A Pearl Beneath the Sea
by Lilypad05
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha's lives are worlds apart. Inuyasha's a prince and Kagome is just a waitress or is anything like it seems?
1. So Royal, So Ordinary

A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first story posted on Fanfiction. I hope everyone enjoys it and reviews.

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not originally thought up by me and the main idea of this story taken from a Chinese series. However, there are some things that I have changed around and some of the characters are originally unique.

A Pearl Beneath the Sea

Chapter One

So royal, So ordinary

The night was cold. The wind blew through the curtains of an old carriage, which held a woman and a newborn baby. It was way past dark and everyone in the small town was fast asleep. The carriage took them to an older part of the town. The woman looked out of her window and told the driver to stop in front of an old restaurant with some rooms for lodging on the second floor.

The baby was sleeping soundlessly. She had just been born today. The woman reached down and unwrapped the blanket around the baby. She woke with a start when the woman bit into her arm. The baby started to wail. The teeth marks were deep and bleeding. The woman murmured to herself, "It's to recognize you later on. You will never be able to lift you face in society here."

She quickly wrapped the baby in her red blanket and hurried out of the carriage and into the street. She placed the baby on the front steps of the restaurant and quickly stepped back into the carriage. She drove away without even looking back.

Kaede, the keeper of the restaurant and the lodging rooms, woke with a start when she heard the wail of the baby. It seemed to come from somewhere very close, but none of her guests that night had a child with them. She quickly dressed and went down the stairs to find where the noise was coming from.

She approached the door when the crying was getting louder. Kaede slowly opened the door. Peering outside, she didn't see anything at all. Kaede was about to take a step forward until her realized that there was baby laying there. She picked her up and tried to sooth her.

The baby had no note, no clothes. She just had a blanket keeping her warm and two sets of teeth marks, one on each arm. Kaede took one last look outside to see if anyone was there to give them their baby back. When everything was totally silent, she stepped back into the house and decided silently to herself to raise this child.

&

At about the same time in the palace of the king, his wife had gone into labor and was going to give birth. The queen lay there in pain, hoping and praying that she would give birth to a son. The king had had many previous wives that were killed or dismissed for not being able to have a child or having a daughter.

Late into the night, she finally had her child. It was a boy. The queen lay silently on her bed, thinking to herself. She thought, "I have done the right thing. It's a boy. I will be loved by my husband and by all the people of China. We now have an heir to the throne…"

The new prince was whisked off for the king to see. She didn't even get the chance to hold him. The queen was soon too tired to think about her son, the prince and the soon to become king, and fell asleep.

The next day, it was announced throughout all of China of the new prince, Inuyasha.

&

Nineteen years later…

Kaede had kept the child that she found that night and raised it like her own. She named the child Kagome and never told her the story that she was found on her doorstep. Kagome believed that Kaede was her aunt and that her parents had died soon after she was born from a deadly disease. She had stuck to her story and wasn't sure when she would let Kagome know what had truly happened.

"_How were my parents like?" asked Kagome at the young age of five._

"_They were good parents. They loved you like no other. When they knew that they were going to die, they had given you to me to take care of. They made me promise them to take good care of you."_

"_Why don't I remember them? How did they look like?" asked Kagome curiously._

"_Your mother was fair and beautiful. You have her pretty eyes. And your dad was built and strong. You are nothing like him physically, but mentally and emotionally you two are ever so similar. He was kind and caring, always wanting to help people. They both loved you dearly, Kagome." _

_It tore Kaede to lie to Kagome. Kagome's parents probably didn't love her or else why would they have left her on her doorstep when she was so little? Kagome was a sweet child and loved to help Kaede. "Her parents would want to have such a wonderful daughter as Kagome." Kaede thought to herself. "But I love Kagome. I don't want her to ever leave me…"_

Kagome was happy at the restaurant. She worked in the kitchens every since she could remember. The restaurant was old and in a poorer part of the town, but it still had lots of customers and lodgers. Kaede's family had owned this restaurant as far back as 200 years ago. The restaurant didn't earn enough money for remodeling, so it has stayed the same way ever since Kaede took it over.

Kaede couldn't afford to give Kagome an education and couldn't teach her herself either, since she didn't get an education herself when she was young.

Kagome picked up the newspaper left by one of the customers and stared blankly at it. Looking over at Kaede, she asked, "What does this say, Aunt Kaede?"

"I don't know, dear. Maybe you should ask them sitting over there."

Kagome walked over towards two young girls. "I was wondering what this says." She handed them the newspaper.

The older girl replied, "Oh, the prince, Inuyasha, is coming of age. He's going to be traveling throughout China in disguise and seeing the towns and cities for the first time of his life. He actually left the kingdom today. His destination is unknown for his safety." The girl looked up at Kagome. "He's about your age isn't he? You're nineteen too this year, right?"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, I am. Me and the prince were born in the same year." She laughed to herself at the coincidence.

&

Inuyasha lived in the palace all his life with hundreds of maids and servants at his every beck and call. He had longed to go out of the palace and be free.

In the palace, Inuyasha had a strict instructor to teach him everything he ever would need to know from arithmetic to how to rule all of China when he was grown up. Best of all, Inuyasha got to learn how to fight. He would practice everyday. It was something Inuyasha could do to get away from all the palace's troubles.

When he finally reached the age of nineteen, the king, his father, had decided that he was old enough to go out and see China for the first time. His mother had objected, but soon had to agree with the king.

Finally it was the day to leave the palace. Inuyasha was all too excited and was getting far too impatient.

"MYOGA, HURRY UP!" bellowed Inuyasha.

"Gosh, if you didn't have so much luggage, I'll be done already," said Myoga disgustedly.

The carriage was filled up with all sorts of things. Finally by noon, they were ready and Myoga, Inuyasha's closest servant, and Inuyasha headed on their way.

Myoga drove lazily on a dirt road. The palace where Inuyasha grew up was slowly disappearing below the horizon. Myoga turned to Inuyasha inside the carriage and asked, "So where will we be headed to your highness?"

"Okay, first off you have to stop calling me your highness. You will now refer to me just as Inuyasha. Now, for our destination for tonight, we will probably have to stop at the closest town since it going to get late pretty soon."

"Alright, your highness. I mean Inuyasha," he added quickly. "This is going to need some time to get used to."

"Well you better not make any slips. I don't want people to come after me and kill me."

They were silent for awhile. Inuyasha looked out of the small window from inside the carriage. They passed small farms. One of which was no bigger than a small shack. There was an old man out tending his fields. The man was probably close to seventy years old and still he was growing his own food and sleeping in a tiny shack. Inuyasha had never done anything for himself, much less grow his own food. He stared at the man for a long time and decided that tonight he was going to try and live like this man.

Inuyasha sighed to himself. The air was even easier to breathe out her than in the big palace. He wondered how life would be if he wasn't a prince.

Interrupting Inuyasha's thoughts, "Your highness, I mean Inuyasha. Sorry. Anyways, we are now going to be entering a city. I just wanted to let you know."

"This city is pretty run down, don't you think?" Inuyasha said as he looked at the small shops and the old homes lining the street.

"I would have to agree, but we have been living in the palace all our lives, so maybe this is just ordinary life in China."

"I guess… I'm getting hungry. Why don't we just stop in that restaurant up ahead? It also has rooms for guest on the top, so we can just spend the night there." Inuyasha had chosen that particular restaurant since it was old and shabby. It looked like the oldest building on the street actually. Since this was probably where that old man on the fields would stay, Inuyasha would try it out for tonight and if he didn't like it he would stay at someplace nicer tomorrow. "One night couldn't hurt anyone, could it?" thought Inuyasha.

"Sounds like a good idea. It'll get us to experience the regular standard of living."

Inuyasha got out of the carriage and stretched out his arms when Myoga stopped in front of the restaurant. He found a spot of keep the carriage overnight and joined Inuyasha to get some dinner.

Inuyasha walked into the restaurant first and smelled the sweet aroma coming from the kitchens. He found a table for two in the corner of him and Myoga.

Inuyasha noticed that the place was nice and clean. Many of the tables were filled and the food looked delicious. "Maybe this was a good idea after all," Inuyasha thought.

"Waiter please!" yelled Inuyasha, so he could be heard over all of the other noise.

Kagome, hearing a call, hurried out of the kitchens and towards the new guests that had just sat down. As she approached their table to get their orders, she slipped on something wet on the ground and landed straight onto Inuyasha.

A/N: Is love in the air for these two? You will have to see…


	2. A Pot of Tea and a Rat

A/N: Yes, this is chapter two. I don't think I'll be able to update this fast for the rest of the story, but I'll try. And I just want to say thank you to all the people that have read my story and reviewed. It really keeps the inspiration for writing up and I love to see that people like it. It makes me so happy.

Chapter Two

A Pot of Tea and a Rat

Kagome turned bright red and quickly got off of Inuyasha. He looked at her all funny as he helped her off him. Myoga was chuckling to himself watching everything take place right cross from him.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir. I slipped on something on the ground," Kagome said looking at her feet.

"Wow, I can't believe girls are so…umm… upfront with handsome guys," speaking more to Myoga than to Kagome.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" Kagome's face was an inch away from Inuyasha's now. "I slipped. I don't think you're handsome at all. Now what do you want to eat!"

"Talk about treating customers nicely. I've never been yelled at before, not even by my own parents. You have no right to, I'm the…" Myoga kicked Inuyasha hard in the shin, which made Inuyasha wince in pain and give him a deadly look.

"I think we just going to have some fired rice with chicken and string beans please. Thank you," replied Myoga kindly.

"Hang on one second young lady," addressing Kagome. She turned around and looked straight into his eyes. "You still haven't apologized for falling on top of me the moment you saw me."

Kagome was now at the boiling point with this young man. "Fine! Even though we all know it was an accident you can't be a little gentlemen like and just drop it. I'm…"

"What did you say? I don't think you said sorry yet."

"I'M SORRY! Happy?" Kagome screamed for the whole restaurant to here. Everyone now had stopped eating and was looking over at Kagome and Inuyasha. "This is all your fault," breathed Kagome that for only Inuyasha to hear.

Kagome quickly retreated back into the kitchen to prepare their meal. She sure wanted to stir poison into Inuyasha's fried rice, but refrained herself with all her might to not do so. However, Kagome did purposefully burn the rice and the chicken while cooking it. She just couldn't stop herself from this.

This new boy, he wasn't much older than Kagome herself, had totally made Kagome lose her temper. She never remembered getting irritated like this before. She had remember Kaede's words that she was kind and caring like her father, but right now all of that didn't seem to matter as she carried out the burnt fried rice and chicken to her customers.

"You forgot to give us tea, girl," said Inuyasha angrily just when Kagome walked out of the kitchen.

Kagome stared furiously at him for a moment before she continued walking and handed them their food. She smiled as she laid the food in front of them.

"Do you call this food?"

"Oh, yes. The cook here is just amazing," referring to herself. "I hope you enjoy your dinner tonight," she said delightfully. "I'm going to get your hot tea right now. Which kind do you want? Jasmine or herbal?" Kagome asked in her politest tone of voice.

"I'll have herbal," Inuyasha spat at her.

Kagome turned around and smiled at herself. "He won't know what's coming for him," she thought happily as she went into the kitchen for some very hot tea.

&

Inuyasha picked up his chopsticks and was about to place a piece of chicken in his mouth, when Myoga took his chopsticks to pull the chicken away from Inuyasha's mouth just before he could eat it.

"Not so fast there. I have to try it first. You never know if there's poison in it." Myoga placed some chicken in his mouth. He chewed slowly and carefully.

"I guess you're right. I don't know what is wrong with that girl. She probably did put poison in this food to kill me." Inuyasha looked up to see if Myoga had died from eating her food to see that Myoga had finished more than half of the plate.

"You can't eat all of our dinner Myoga! And I thought that you said that there might be poison in it. At the rate you're eating you're going to die even quicker."

"This food is really good, your highness," responded Myoga as soon as he had the chance to swallow. Inuyasha hit Myoga hard at the mention of 'your highness.'

"You have got to stop calling me that Myoga, unless you seriously want me killed," he said threateningly.

"Sorry… Inuyasha. But the food is great you should have some. Apart from that fact that it is burnt, the cook really has a knack for cooking."

Inuyasha picked up his chopsticks again and tried the chicken with the fired rice. It did indeed taste good, really delicious actually. At least one thing went right on his first day.

&

Kagome returned to the table with a pot of hot tea in her hand. "How do you like my cooking, sir?"

Inuyasha started to choke on his food. "W-what!" he managed to sputter.

"I said, 'Do you like my cooking?' " Kagome said again trying to stop herself from laughing.

Myoga had to walk behind Inuyasha and patted his back a couple of times to get him to stop choking so violently. "This stuff is disgusting," Inuyasha managed finally. He couldn't believe that is was this girl that had cooked this food. "There probably is poison in this chicken" he thought.

"It's the worst meal I have ever had in my life!" he responded more confidently.

"Then why have you almost finished the entire dish of rice and chicken? It has to be good if you were eating it that fast…"

"I was just hungry. And aren't you supposed to happy that your customers like your food?"

"I suppose I do appreciate the fact that you like my burnt fried rice and chicken." Kagome replied thoughtfully. "Here's the herbal tea you asked for."

Inuyasha reached out to grab the pot from her hand when she tipped the pot for the hot tea to pour onto his hand.

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? KILL ME WHY DON'T YOU. YOU PROBABLY POISONED MY MEAL, AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO BURN ME!" screeched Inuyasha. Kagome was laughing so hard to herself that she didn't notice Kaede coming out from the kitchens.

Inuyasha was now jumping up and down, while Myoga was trying to find water for his prince.

"What is going on, Kagome!" yelled Kaede. All the guests were looking worriedly at Inuyasha and his totally swollen, red hand. "I am so sorry, sir. Kagome," pointing at their waitress, "never has done this before. It must have been an accident. My deepest apologizes, sir. The food you ordered will be on us. You can even spend the night here as an apology for our terrible services. Now Kagome, apologize this instant to this young man."

Kagome was not laughing anymore now. She knew what she had done was wrong, but there was something about him that made her angry. "I'm ever so sorry, sir." Kagome said to Inuyasha quietly.

His hand was still in a lot of pain. Myoga had now found a wet cloth that was helping sooth it a little. Then something occurred to Inuyasha…

"No hard feelings," Inuyasha said to Kagome, "Everyone makes a slip sometime. Thank you for your offer to let me lodge here," turning to Kaede, "I would be happy to stay here for tonight. As a matter of fact, I would like to stay here for the whole week, under the care of this girl here," Inuyasha said pointing to Kagome.

Kagome stared at him astonishedly. She couldn't believe that he would want to live here for a week and under her care!

"Why, it would be our pleasure to have you as our guest here. Isn't that right Kagome?"

"Umm…" Kagome was at a lost for words. "Yes."

"I am going to get this girl back big time," thought Inuyasha silently.

&

"Right this way, gentlemen," Kagome said as she led them to their room on the second floor. Their room was the biggest and the most expensive out of all the other ones. Even though it was the best one, it still was nothing like Inuyasha's room in the palace. Kagome opened their door and handed Inuyasha the keys.

"I hope you enjoy your stay here," she said monotonously and turned to leave.

"Wait, girl, not so fast," Inuyasha said as he took one look inside the room.

"You have got to stop calling me girl," Kagome shot back, "My name is Kagome."

"Okay, Kagome, you said that this was the nicest room here. But it is totally unkempt. There are no sheets on the bed, and when where is the bathroom? What about a drawer for my clothes?"

"Where did you used to live?" Kagome eyed him suspiciously. "First of all, you will just have to sleep with warm clothes on or get your own sheets. Secondly, if you need to go during the night, you can always go into this pot underneath your bed. And lastly, how much clothes do you have to need drawers?"

Inuyasha caught himself for believing this was the palace. Of course not everyone had a hundred pairs of pants like him. But it was kind of gross to have to pee in a pot…

"Hello? Sir? Is this going to be okay? I don't have all day with you here. I still have to clean the kitchen tonight."

"I guess, I'll be able to survive," he replied sarcastically, "But you agreed that you are going to take care of me for the rest of the week, didn't you? So I would like some tea please."

"You still want tea after what happened?"

"What was this guy thinking?" thought Kagome.

"I didn't get to drink any during my meal because you _accidentally_ spilt it on me."

"Would you like herbal or jasmine then?" she asked sweetly.

"Herbal."

&

Myoga had gone back to the carriage and retrieved some of their belongings for the night.

"I can't believe this is where I'm spending by first night away from home at," Inuyasha told Myoga, who was trying to make the Inuyasha's room look more pleasant.

"Did you not want to stay here in the first place? Better yet, you asked to stay for an entire week."

"Shut your trap. I'm only staying here to get that girl back for what she did." He looked down at his still very red hand.

"You like her don't you? She fairly pretty, your highness."

"INUYASHA! And where did you get the idea that I liked her?"

"Sorry… Inuyasha. But, the girl is pretty. Beautiful, I might add. She's fair and has the most gorgeous eyes I ever seen."

"I hate the girl. How am I ever going to get her back," he muttered to himself, ignoring what Myoga just said.

_Knock knock!_

"Come in. You don't have to break the door down."

Kagome came in. Once again there was a hot pot of tea in her hand.

"Here's your tea, sir." Kagome wasn't going to pour it on him this time. Once had gotten her into enough trouble.

Kagome carefully poured the tea into Inuyasha's cup.

"So I see you are able to pour a cup of tea."

"Get over that, will you? You know you're the one that started it. So grow up and be a man." Kagome shot back.

"I didn't spill boiling tea on…"

"INUYASHA! A RAT!" Myoga yelled as he came running towards them. Following him was a big rat with a long hairless tail.

"Ahhh!" screamed Kagome wildly as she jumped up on the table spilling the tea at the first sight of the rat.

Inuyasha got up and caught the mouse by its tail before it could run out of the room and daggled it in front of Kagome just to get her even more terrified.

"Get that… thing away from… me!" She had now backed up to the other side of the table and was only inches away from falling off. Seeing this, he carelessly threw the rat out of the window and into the streets below.

"You can get off the table now, the rat is gone." Inuyasha said with a yawn turning to see Kagome slowly getting off of the table. "I can't believe there are rats here. It shows how clean this place is."

"And you couldn't tell that I didn't like rats, so you swung it in front of my face, huh?"

"What comes around, goes around." He held up his hand to remind her. "And forget about bringing me another pot of tea. It just wasn't meant for me to have some."

The pot of tea and tea cup was now on the floor. "I'll clean it up," offered Myoga.

"Have a good night's rest." Kagome managed angrily and headed for the door to leave.

"I hope you do too." He smirked.

&

As soon as Kagome left, Inuyasha latched the door and told his servant to stop cleaning up the mess. "Myoga, I want you to find me a rat."

"What? Why?"

"Don't ask questions. Just find me a rat and give it to me."

Myoga was also terrified of rats, but he slowly obeyed Inuyasha and headed outside to catch a rat. He had been roaming the streets without any luck for about a half an hour, until he saw finally one scurrying through some trash. Myoga leaped on top of it and caught it by the tail. "Ewww… What does he want with a rat?"

His hand was out stretched as he held the rat that was trying with all it's might to escape. He hurried back to their room to give the rodent to his master.

"There you are, Myoga." Inuyasha reached for the rat instantly and hurried out of the room.

&

Kagome was at last done cleaning the kitchen and the tables. She walked drearily up the stairs to her bedroom, ready to take a warm bath before going to bed.

"It's been a long day and it's going to be even a longer week," thinking about having to serve Inuyasha just disgusted her.

She came to her room on the far side of the house and let out an ear piercing scream just as she opened the door.

A/N: You should know why she screamed. I'll update soon. Keep reading!


	3. Marriage?

A/N: Am I updating too fast? I need your guy's feedback on how my chapters are going. So leave a review and just tell me the truth. I can handle it. Don't worry.

I hope you like this chapter though. It has more stuff going on in it than the last one. Enjoy!

Chapter Three

Marriage?

Inuyasha chuckled to himself when he heard Kagome's scream. He had taken the rat that Myoga caught for him and hung the rodent by its tail from Kagome's doorway. He had asked Kaede where Kagome room was, telling her he needed to give her something, a rat.

He heard footsteps hurrying up the stairs to Kagome's bedroom. She stopped screaming. It was probably Kaede that took care of the rat. "I hope she didn't kill it. That rat helped me get that girl back." He thought silently. Inuyasha heard hushed voices, but couldn't make out the words. He didn't care and went to bed, smiling at his effective prank.

&

Inuyasha rose early that morning. His bedroom faced the east and the sun shine was pouring into his bedroom. He made a quick change of clothes and headed down for breakfast.

Kagome had been up for about an hour now, getting the food ready for the new day. She hadn't slept well that night, since she kept on worrying about seeing another rat in her room. "That Inuyasha!" Kagome fumed to herself just when she saw him going down the stairs.

"Good morning," he said with the biggest grin. He could tell that she hadn't slept well the previous night due to him.

She eyed him dangerously and stomped off towards the kitchen. "Hold on there, girl." Inuyasha grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. "I want you to give a tour of this town today. There are probably so many sites to see." He had her and he knew it.

"I can't just leave and give you a tour."

"Really? Kaede!" Kaede walked out of the kitchens to see what was going wrong now.

"Yes, sir?"

"I would like to have Kagome here give me a tour of the city." He laid down a piece of gold and set it on the table. "You can take the gold and find someone else to take her place for today, can't you?"

The gold was worth about as much as the whole restaurant would make in month. "Of course Kagome can give you a tour." She took the gold immediately. Kaede wasn't greedy, but they were always low on money.

Inuyasha turned and smiled at the girl. "I told you could go, but I would like breakfast with you first."

"You are the most…" She didn't have time to finish her sentence when Inuyasha interrupted her.

"I like oatmeal."

&

Kagome headed for the kitchens to fix the both of them breakfast.

"Kaede, I don't want to spend the entire day with him," she complained.

"I know, but this month I really don't know how I am going to come up with enough money to pay the taxes. Even with the gold he gave us today. I might have to close this place down." Kagome could believe what just came out of her aunt's mouth. Closing down the place?

"You can't sell this place. It's been in our family for so long. Are you sure there isn't any way?"

Kaede slowly shook her head wearily. The taxes that the government imposed had gone up this past year. It was getting harder and harder for them to pay them off. Now they were in debt and the end of the month was ever so near.

Kagome didn't want to sell their restaurant. It probably even meant more to Kaede than it did to Kagome.

She racked her mind to see if there was any way to come up with some money. She just couldn't see how they could…

&

Kagome finished making two bowls of oatmeal and headed towards his table.

"If I had to depend on you to cook me food, I would be dead." She had taken extra long in making the food, since her mind kept on wandering off. She wanted to figure out how to keep the restaurant.

"I'm sorry." Kagome wasn't about to have another argument.

"Well that's a change." He noticed that Kagome was saddened by something, but didn't bother to ask. Instead, he chowed down the oatmeal.

They both finished quickly and headed out onto the streets. The streets were lined with carts, selling all types of different things, from clothes to food. People were out and about doing their morning shopping. Inuyasha's eyes brighten at this.

"Wow, this place looks really…beautiful." Last night when he had arrived the streets lay bare, but now it was like a totally different world.

"I guess it is. Everyone is milling around and doing their shopping." Kagome turned and looked at Inuyasha for his response.

"Where did he go?" She just let him out of her sight of second and he was gone.

"Over here!" someone yelled from a crowd. Kagome found him buying some cakes and other desserts. He handed her one and gobbled down the other.

Inuyasha went for cart to cart buying everything that fancied him. Kagome had to run to keep up with him. Finally she caught his sleeve and held him back before he could run off to the next cart. "I thought I was giving you a tour of this town not chasing after you everywhere."

"Right, but I want to buy some more things and then we can go see some sites."

"More things?" His pockets were over flowing with stuff.

He bought some masks, more pastries, and clothing until he was fully satisfied. "Now we can go site seeing."

"Do you want to go to the Buddhist temple?"

"Sounds good." Kagome headed north to the richer part of the city.

"Where did you used to live?" She had been wondering about his status since the time he made the comments about their rooms.

Inuyasha didn't know how to reply to this. Of course he couldn't tell her the truth. 'I'm the prince of China.' That would not work.

Kagome stopped and looked at him since he wasn't answering. "I'm from…" he began slowly, "northern China. My dad is an official there and we're fairly well off. I'm going from city to city and seeing how other officials run their town."

"You're lucky that you are from a wealthy family." Kagome looked sadly down at the ground.

"Your restaurant and lodging rooms are making money. It seems that you have a nice place." For some reason, he felt that he needed to comfort her.

"We can't pay the taxes this month. They've just gone up so high." The words seemed to have slipped out of her mouth and it was all too late to take them back.

"Just get married," he said carelessly. That always seemed to be the solution to everything in the palace. When the king needed to stop an outbreak of war, he would have someone marry the other side's prince or other nobility and things smoothed itself out.

"Maybe getting married is the solution." Kagome thought to herself.

At that moment, Kouga, the official's son of this city, walked up and wrapped his arm around Kagome. "Good morning, beautiful. What brings you out here this early today?" Kouga had met Kagome at the restaurant at about the age of seven and fell in love with her ever since. Just last month, he had asked for her hand in marriage and she refused almost immediately.

He turned and saw Inuyasha. "And what _you_ doing here? Why aren't you at the…" Kouga didn't get a chance to finish since Inuyasha had kicked him hard in the shin.

"Why are you friends with these kind of people?" Inuyasha asked Kagome as he pulled her to the temple up ahead.

"It seemed like you knew him too," she defended.

"He's my cousin… three times removed, hardly related to me at all." This fact was actually true about him. Kouga was his cousin three times removed, but him and Inuyasha had being enemies ever since they were toddlers. Inuyasha couldn't believe that Kouga almost gave his identity away. "I have to get him back for that," he thought in silence.

They approached the massive temple. It had been built recently and was the most glorious building in the town. The front had two sets of stairs leading up to the interior of the temple. The artists had painted the walls with intricate designs of gleaming gold. The statue in the front was a lady, one of Buddha's helpers, made out of pure white stone in the middle of a fountain.

They made their way up the stairs and walked into one grand room. In the center was a Buddha statue that was plated with gold on the outside. Once inside, Kagome got down to her knees and placed her hands together in front of her and started to pray.

"My name is Kagome. I hope that you may grant me just one wish. I wish that our restaurant will continue to be in our family and that we won't have to sell it. Thank you." Kagome prayed silently to herself and got up. Beside her Inuyasha was kneeling down and praying.

"My name is Inuyasha. I would want all of China to live in prosperity during my reign and afterwards." He got up and noticed Kagome looking at him.

"What did you ask for?" she asked curiously.

"For you to find another rat in your room." Inuyasha laughed and walked off to admire some for the other statues.

"It was you that put it there!"

"You can't prove it," he yelled without turning around.

Kagome counted to ten to control her anger and then walked to a table and grabbed a container of sticks each with something written on it.

She kneeled once more in front of Buddha. "Will we be able to keep our restaurant, will we be able to keep our restaurant…" Kagome recited over and over again while shaking the container until one stick fell out. She stopped and picked up the stick that had fallen out.

On one side of the room there was a man that read these sticks and would tell her what it meant. Kagome sat down on the chair and handed the old man the stick that had dropped to the floor.

He looked at the stick. "So, young lady, what did you ask for?"

"I asked if my aunt would able to keep her restaurant."

"These words here," pointing at the stick, which Kagome couldn't read, "tells me that your wish will be granted accordingly. However, it isn't that simple. Your aunt will keep her restaurant, but _you_ will have a long journey waiting for you." The man eyed her curiously, as if waiting for her to say something.

Kagome had no idea what he meant by her long journey, but before she had anymore time to think about the matter, Inuyasha tapped on her shoulder.

"What did you ask for?"

"If we were able to keep our restaurant, and the man said yes." Kagome was cheerful to know that they were able to keep it.

"You actually believe those things?"

"Yeah, what if I do? You can't prove that they don't truly work."

"I'll prove to you right now." Inuyasha walked over to the same table where Kagome got the container with the sticks and grabbed one. He got down on his knees and started shaking them.

"Will I get married tomorrow, Will I get married tomorrow…" Inuyasha recited this aloud for everyone in the temple to hear. He got questioning stares from the others in the temple. After saying this over and over for about fifteen times a stick fell on the floor.

"Now were going to see if I will get married tomorrow." He took at seat across from the old man and handed him the sticking, the whole time smiling at Kagome.

"Hmm… you asked if you were going to get married tomorrow, am I correct?"

"Yes, I really want to know if love is in the air for me." He snickered jokingly.

"Well, this says that there is love in the air for you." Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at this. The man continued, "Yes, you are sure to get married tomorrow."

"Okay, we'll see if you are true to your word then." He stood up to leave. "I'm NOT getting married tomorrow, girl," he said when he turned to see Kagome giggling.

"We'll have to see, won't we?"

"Whatever. I'm hungry. Let's go back from some lunch."

"Right this way." Kagome was now in a good mood. She was now comforted that Kaede would be able to keep her restaurant, but then where would they get all the money? She sighed to herself and headed back to the restaurant.

&

The rest of the day went on without too much difference. Kagome was now lying on her bed resting from a wearisome day. She was trying to recall what had happened just a few minutes ago. Why had she done that? Had it been the right thing to do?

_Kagome creaked the door open to Kaede's bedroom and walked in. She found Kaede sitting very still on the edge of her bed. _

"_Kaede?"_

_Kaede wiped the back of her hand across her face to wipe away the tears. She turned to Kagome. "Kagome, dear. I know you are worried about me and this place, but don't trouble yourself." Kaede seemed tired and worn. Kagome never noticed how old Kaede was and especially today she seemed to have aged a decade. _

"_But I want to help." Tears were forming in her eyes as she kneeled down by her beloved aunt. "I want to keep our place…"_

"_There, there," Kaede smoothed Kagome's hair. "We can find some other place to run our business when we get some money. It could be a newer, brighter start for the both of us."_

"_I like it here. Isn't there any way at all Aunt Kaede?"_

"_If we don't come up with 1000 yen by the end of this month, the government will make us close it down and take it. We really don't have much of a choice you see."_

_Kagome bite her lip. She wasn't sure if she should tell Kaede her idea from earlier today that she got from Inuyasha. She wanted to keep this building so much; she would do anything for the money. "I have an idea to get us 1000 yen." _

_Kaede looked sharply at her. "How?"_

"_I… I could get… get married." Kagome said this slowly and avoided her aunt's gaze. _

"_Kagome, you are too young. I do not want you to be unhappy the rest of your life because of me, you understand that don't you?"_

"_No, I want to marry Kouga. He has always liked me and asked for my hand just a month ago and I refused. Now that I've thought about it, I know that deep down that I would be happy as his wife." Kagome knew that this was all lies. She had never liked him and never would. He was just a coward that had a rich father. Kouga was nothing without his parents and it didn't seem fair that he was so rich and she was so poor. _

"_You don't love him." _

_Kagome had to convince her somehow that Kouga was the husband for her. "Yes, I do. This morning I meet him and he just changed my perspective on him. He got down on one knee and handed me flowers and recited a lovely poem that showed his love for me." She was already getting sick for telling all these lies. "Please, it's not just for the dowry money. I love him." Kagome couldn't even believe that she actually said that. _

"_You don't have to do this, Kagome. I know you don't love him." "How had she known that?" thought Kagome._

"_I love him," she insisted. "I'm going to tell him tomorrow that I had made a mistake for refusing earlier. I want to marry Kouga."_

"_Don't make this any harder than it is honey." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I don't want you to have to put your whole life at stake. I want you to be happy."_

"_I will be happy being Kouga's wife. I will…" Kagome squeezed Kaede's hand to reassure her. _

"_Why do you keep claiming you love him when you don't? Why…?"_

"_It's going to be okay." She got up and left for the door or else she probably would have broken down in front of Kaede. _

Kagome didn't know if what she did was right. It was getting late, so she got under her covers to go to bed. "Tomorrow will be another day. I'm just going marry Kouga…" she said to herself before dozing off.

A/N: I know what you're going to say: Kagome can't marry Kouga. Just keep reading.


	4. Isn't that a coincidence

A/N: Thank you everyone that is reading my story. I hope you guys like it. And I am so sorry for all the mistakes that I have made with the character names. I changed most of it, but if some of them are still wrong, you have my deepest apologies.

Chapter Four

Isn't that a coincidence?

There was a clanking of pebbles on Kagome's window that woke her. Everything was still pitch black dark. "Who is throwing those pebbles?" thought Kagome sleepily as she slowly got out of bed to see who it was.

Peering out of the window, she saw below out on the empty streets stood Sango. Kagome was a little startled to see her best friend out on the streets throwing pebbles at her window in the middle of the night. Sango motioned Kagome to go downstairs and to meet her.

She quickly dressed in the dark, walked silently down the stairs, and slipped out of the restaurant. "What are you doing here this late Sango?" she asked after they hugged.

Kagome and Sango had played with one another since they were little. Sango's father was a wealthy judge in the city and at first didn't allow their friendship, but had to give in. He had told Kaede that Kagome wasn't fit to socialize with his daughter due to their educational and status differences. Kaede even tried to talk Kagome into not playing with Sango. Yet, the girls would sneak out to see each other when he hadn't let them see one another during the nights. In the end, it was easier to allow their friendship then for the two girls to pursue it behind his back.

"Can we go inside, Kagome? I need to tell you some things. It's important." She said this with urgency in her voice.

"Yeah, of course. Just keep your voice low." The two walked quietly in and shut the door behind them. They sat down at a small table in the corner.

"I have to tell you something," Sango whispered almost to quiet to hear, "My father has just told me about my arranged marriage since birth. He, my soon to be husband, is coming here tomorrow. I don't want to get married Kagome." Sadness filled Sango's eyes that ripped into Kagome's heart.

"What? I can't believe this. What's his name? What does he do for a living? Have you ever met him before?"

"His name is Miroku. He's coming here to take the examinations for official spots in the government, which are going to be held in three days. My parents told me that I have met him once when I was very little. I don't remember how he is at all. How am I supposed to spend the rest of my life with him?"

Kagome clutched her hand. "I'm sure your parents chose a good guy for you. Don't worry." In reality, Kagome wasn't sure if Sango's parents had made a good decision. In the past they hadn't, about who she should be friends with or her education. They believed that girls didn't need to anything besides cooking, sewing, and cleaning. With Kaede's input, Sango got to go to school and learn to fight. "So maybe this time they hadn't made a good decision either," she thought.

"Don't lie. Have they done anything right?"

"You are well off. But with the whole parenting thing, your parents… need some work."

"My life is over." She closed her eyes. "We'll see tomorrow, won't we?"

"I guess so. And Sango, I have something to tell you too."

"What is it?" She eyed her suspiciously.

"I'm going to marry… Kouga."

"WHAT!" Sango said it louder than she had intended.

"Shhhh! Do you want everyone to wake up? I'm marrying him so we can keep our restaurant."

&

Upstairs, Inuyasha had heard Sango yell from downstairs and got out of bed to see what it was all about. "I can never live in peace here," he said grumpily.

&

"What do you mean, 'keep the restaurant'?"

"The taxes are getting too high for us to pay them off. We're too far in debt and if we don't pay this month, the government is going to take it."

"How much money do you need?"

"1000 yen."

"That much?"

Sango wanted to help, but she didn't have much money; it was her parents that we're rich, not her.

"So we both have marriage problems…" Kagome said just as Inuyasha came down the stairs.

"How do you have marriage problems, girl? You should be thankful that someone is actually marrying you." Inuyasha didn't have the slightest clue whom she was going to marry.

"What are you doing down here at this time?" she hissed.

"I heard someone yell, so I woke up and came down here to see who it was," he said sleepily, ready to go up to bed.

"Well, it was my friend, Sango," pointing at the girl that was sitting in at the table in the corner, looking completely confused as to who Inuyasha was. "We were just talking about some things, and she was just about getting ready to leave, so you can go back to bed now."

"What kind of conversation were you two having this late?"

"Nothing you need to know about."

Kagome came over to her best friend and showed her to the door. Sango didn't understand why she had to leave, but in the end gave Kagome a dirty look before shutting the door behind her.

She turned around as soon as the door had closed behind her, thinking that Inuyasha had gone back to bed. To her surprise, he was still standing right where he had stood before.

"Why aren't you going back to bed?" she said questionly. "What did he want now?" she thought in frustration.

"Oh… I just want to know who you are planning to marry."

"No one," Kagome said in disgust and headed for the stairs to her room to get some sleep. She hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep ever since he had come here.

However, she wasn't going to get the rest she needed tonight. Inuyasha followed her right to her room.

She turned around ready to scream at him, but instead said, "Sir, if you had forgotten where your room was it is over there on the other side. This is my room. Good night."

Kagome pushed open the door and got into bed without caring to change out of her clothes and pulled the covers over her head trying to find sleep. Then suddenly, the covers were pulled off her head revealing a sleepily Inuyasha.

"Who is it?"

"Who are you talking about? Get out of my room. Go to bed. Why do you have to bother me?" she asked in despair. It was probably three in the morning now and in only a couple more hours Kagome was in for another day of work.

"Just tell me who you are getting married to, and I'll leave you alone."

"Why do you even care who I get married to?" She just couldn't understand why he would want to know so badly.

Inuyasha had gotten everything he had ever wanted as a child. This was just something he did not know, so he had to find out.

There was a long pause of silence. Kagome felt awkward for having Inuyasha in her bedroom and standing over her while she was there lying in bed.

"It's not that I like him… it's for the restaurant."

"Who?"

Inuyasha couldn't understand why he would want to know this badly to not go back to bed. He just wanted to know and he wasn't leaving until he got a satisfying answer out of her.

"It's…"

"Should she actually tell him?" Kagome thought, "Well, everyone will know once we get married, it wouldn't hurt if he knew sooner."

"It's… Kouga."

"What? How could you get married to him? What are you thinking girl?" He started at her in disbelief.

"Why shouldn't I get married to him?" she shot back. She knew herself that Kouga wasn't a great guy, but was there more to him that Inuyasha knew that she didn't about him.

"He's… He's the worst person ever in the world that you could ever think of to marry. You're pretty bad yourself, but even you don't deserve him."

"What is that suppose to mean that I'm pretty bad? All I've been to you this whole time that you were here is pleasant."

"Like the time you spilt tea on me."

"And the time you dangled that rat on my door."

"You can't prove it was me," he smirked.

"I don't know why I'm even having this conversation with you. Go to sleep." Kagome pulled the covers over her head once more and once again they were pulled back down. "What can it be now? I already told you who it was."

"You can't marry him."

"You can't tell me what to do."

"You will see." And with that, Inuyasha finally left.

"Finally, peace." She fell right to sleep without a care for what tomorrow would bring.

&

Inuyasha had gotten little sleep that night. He couldn't let Kouga marry Kagome. He couldn't.

Kouga and Inuyasha had played with each other when they were toddlers, but had always gotten into fights. Kouga was deceptive and an aggressive person.

Inuyasha was the only heir to the throne and everyone in the palace knew that. However, Kouga was the second one in line for the throne. His dad was the king's only brother and he only had one son, Kouga. When they had gotten older for the both of them to understand their standings to the power to rule over all of China, Kouga began to plan ways to kill Inuyasha and have a clear path to become king.

Once Kouga had come into Inuyasha's room in the night and tried to murder him in bed. Luckily that night, Inuyasha hadn't been able to fall asleep and was lying in bed wide awake. Kouga was expected to find him asleep, so held up his sword ready to kill Inuyasha with one stroke, but was horror struck when Inuyasha took out his blade and countered the shot. Kouga knew he wouldn't winning fighting him one on one, so quickly slipped out of the window and out of sight.

He had lied to Kagome about Kouga being his cousin three times removed. In reality, they were cousins, almost as close in blood as brothers. The king, Inuyasha's father, and Kouga's father had always been in disagreement, so he left the palace to govern this city.

How could Inuyasha stop Kagome from marrying Kouga? He didn't like her, but he couldn't have stand by the side and let Kouga ruin her life.

He soon fell asleep from pure exhaustion and still hadn't come up with any plan.

&

At six when the sun was just rising, Kagome pulled herself out of bed and went down to the kitchens. Kaede was already in there and working on the breakfast meal.

"Did you not sleep well, Kagome?"

She was red eyed and her hair was a mess. "No, but I'm fine."

"Are you still going to marry him?"

"Why couldn't people stop asking her about that?" she thought. "Yes, Aunt Kaede. I'm going to go over to his mansion this morning and tell him."

"You know that you don't have to do this, right?" her aunt said miserably. She didn't want Kagome to do this for her, but found no way to stop her.

Kagome ignored her aunt's last comment and headed out to set up the tables. There sitting just outside of the kitchens was Inuyasha.

"Are you seriously marrying Kouga?" he asked immediately.

Now Kagome had had enough. "YES! And I really don't care what anyone thinks about it. I'm going to go over right now and to tell Kouga that I think that we should get married."

She stomped towards the door and flung it open. Inuyasha got up quickly and grabbed her by the arm.

"How about I go with you?"

"Sure. If you want, I can't really stop you."

"True, if you had said no, I would have gone anyway."

"Typical of you."

The headed out into the streets in walked in silence. No one was out and just a few people were setting up their carts. It took about twenty minutes of slow walking to get to Kouga's mansion.

It was gated, so Kagome knocked loudly until a guard came out.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Kagome. I would like to speak to Kouga please."

"He isn't up yet. Come back later."

"It's important. He would want to hear it."

The guard thought of a second, trying to decide whether to wake up Kouga or not.

"It better be important then…"

This whole time, Inuyasha was trying to come up with a plan to stop this marriage. So far he has come up with nothing that wouldn't interfere with his true identity.

After a few moments, the guard returned with Kouga still in his pajamas.

"Good morning, Kagome. Wow, you look terrible." That morning Kagome hadn't changed and was wearing what she had gone to bed the last night and hadn't even bothered to brush her hair or wash her face.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence Kouga asked, "What brings you here so early?" He did not see Inuyasha, who was standing beyond his view.

Kagome didn't know how to begin to tell Kouga about this situation and it felt even more awkward with Inuyasha standing right behind her. "Remember how you asked for… my hand in marriage last month and I refused you. Well… I was wondering if I could… change my… answer."

"You want to marry me?" Kouga couldn't believe this.

"Ummm…"

Before she could tell Kouga that she wanted to marry him, Inuyasha interrupted her.

"But I love Kagome as well, so maybe there's a way that we could prove to her who would be a better match for her."

Kagome turned around wide eyed and Kouga's mouth dropped.

"What have I done?" he thought.

A/N: Who is she going to marry? This story is long from over. So keep reading!


	5. Bring It On

A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews and support and ideas and inspiration.

Chibi Kawaii Miko: I hope everything is clear and it's good that you can imagine it! Thanks.

Rina: Very good ideas I must say. I don't know about the church bells, their Buddhist… but the ball isn't a bad idea. And a duel, you'll see.

I laugh at you: I love your pen name. Thanks for the review!

lil-kag0m3: Maybe that will happen…

Nomadgirl66: I hate it when people tell me I look like crap too. This chapter will answer your question about how they are going to prove who is better.

Moxi: Thanks for reading every chapter! And your criticism is always good.

Larr, Lisa, and Yasmin: I hope you're enjoying and it's not me forcing you to read it.

Angie: I'm updating pretty quick, but I don't know if I can keep it up. I'll try.

WishUponAStar: Is Myoga Inu's thai gaim… He's just his servant. He really isn't showing up in these chapters any more though. Yeah, Kagome wanted to marry him for money, but it was for a good cause. I mean, the restaurant is at stake! Lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Hope everyone likes it. Main goal: Have readers like what I'm writing.

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Chapter Five

Bring it on

"What did you just say, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked him in totally disbelief. "Did he actually say that he liked her?" she thought.

"I said that I loved you and that I wish to marry you and live with you for the rest of my life. But since you were going to accept Kouga in marriage, I wanted you to know that I loved you as well, and that you should think it over some more before you should decide."

"Are you feeling okay?" Kagome placed her hand on his forehead to see if he was running a high fever.

"I'm feeling fine." He brushed her hand off of his forehand.

Kouga opened the gates and grabbed Inuyasha by the collar. "What are you saying?"

Inuyasha quickly pulled Kouga's hands off him. "I said, and for the last time," he was now getting very irritated for repeating this, "that I love Kagome."

"Come in here with me." He led Inuyasha through the gates and towards that house. "Kagome, we'll be back in a second. Just stay there."

"And think about who you would like to marry," Inuyasha finished and laughed just to himself.

Kouga took him to a small room near the entrance of the house and shut the door. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Can't I love a girl?" This was actually getting kind of amusing for him. "I love her, yeah right," he thought.

"You don't."

"How would you know?"

"You just want her because she was going to marry me. You aren't getting her."

"We'll have to see about that. How do you want to settle this?"

"What could I do to beat Inuyasha at?" thought Kouga. "How about a competition of three rounds. Best two out of the three."

"What are the tasks going to be?"

He smiled. "Let's have Kagome come up with them."

Inuyasha actually liked this idea. "Sure."

&

Outside, Kagome stood waiting for the two to return. "What could they be talking about?" she mused, "And why would Inuyasha confess his love to me now right in front of Kouga. He doesn't love me, right?" She really didn't know the answer to this. The past two days that he had been here with her, they had never stopped fighting.

"Maybe it has something with him telling me that I wouldn't marry Kouga…" With these thoughts, Inuyasha and Kouga reappeared from the house.

"Okay my darling," Kagome winced at the endearment Kouga used, "Inuyasha and I have decided how to settle this.

She raised her eyebrow. "How so?"

"We are going to compete each other in three tasks; best two out of three wins."

"And what might these tasks be?" Kagome ruffled her hair to get it untangled. "How could two guys like me when I'm looking like this?" she wondered.

"This is where you come in, girl," Inuyasha was still used to calling her that, "I mean, Kagome. You are going to decide the three tasks for us to compete in."

"Me?"

"My marriage is turning into some kind of game," she noted silently.

"Yes, so chose wisely." Inuyasha looked at her and for the first time, it seemed that he really did care for her.

Kagome took but a second to make up her mind about the first task for her two suitors. "Okay, the first task today is going to be cooking in the kitchens for dinner tonight. Then at the end of the evening I'll taste one dish that you will prepare especially for me. Which ever one appeals and tastes the best to me will win." She smiled to herself. It actually sounded pretty good for being so quickly chosen. It was going to fun watching these two guys cook. Though mainly, she chose this because she wasn't in the mood to cook tonight.

"You want us to cook?" they responded in unison.

"Yes, you said that I can make up the tasks, did you not?"

"We'll cook." Inuyasha said nudging Kouga, so he would agree with him.

"Fine, I'll cook."

"Great! I can't wait to eat what you plan to make me."

&

Kagome and Inuyasha walked back, and this time not in silence. As soon as they got out of Kouga's ear shot, their _conversation_ began.

"What do you mean that you love me?"

"I don't love you. I'm closer to hating you."

Now Kagome was utterly confused. "Then… why did you…"

"Don't ask. Pretend that I'm in love with you and everything should work itself out."

"Inuyasha, don't mess things up for me. I wanted to marry Kouga. Why would you stop me? I need the dowry money." She could not believe what had just happened at Kouga's place.

"Look. You don't want Kouga as your husband. I can give you the money."

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YESTERDAY?" If he could've given her the money then she wouldn't have to marry anyone and everything would be just be fine, but no, he told her now.

"Why hadn't I thought of that?" he thought to himself, "I would just give her the money and then I wouldn't have to go through trying to marry her. I was too focused on trying to the stop the marriage."

"Umm… oops."

"You! Now I'm going to have to get married to one of you." Kagome didn't like that idea one bit.

"Who would you rather get married too?" Inuyasha was curious after all.

"Neither one! It's all your fault. You should have just let me borrow money. I didn't know you carried that type of money around with you."

Before Inuyasha had left of the palace on this journey, he had taken with him about 10,000 yen as spending money and also to help the poor… "Yes, I do." He still couldn't get over how stupid he had been. Now he was going to have to try and win the competition.

"It's too late to call this off. Just cook well tonight." Kagome pushed open the door and walked right into the kitchen.

"Did she just hint to me that she wanted me to win?" Inuyasha didn't know, maybe she just meant that he was better than Kouga. However for as long as Inuyasha has lived, he has never cooked a single meal in his life. "How am I going to win this?" Then something hit him.

&

"So Kagome, I suppose I'll be attending your wedding fairly soon." It hurt Kaede to know that Kagome was marrying Kouga for her restaurant. Kagome wasn't even related to her. Should she tell her? But then what if Kagome wanted to know who her true parents were? Kaede didn't have the answer to that.

"I don't know." Kagome was lost in her own thoughts. She was still at a young age and didn't want to think of marriage any longer.

"What do you mean, you don't know? I wish you would just let things be. Why are you putting yourself through with this?"

"Kouga and Inuyasha are going to have competition. Who ever wins, is the person I shall marry. The first thing they are doing tonight is cooking at the restaurant," she answered drearily.

"Kouga AND Inuyasha?"

"They apparently both love me." Inuyasha had told her to pretend that he did… "I'm going to go upstairs now and change out of these clothes." Kagome left, leaving a shocked Kaede.

&

"Alright everyone, I need to learn how to cook and fast."

Kouga was standing in his kitchen addressing all his cooks. They stared at him in shock. One thing ran through all their minds: What is wrong with him today?

"Don't just stare at me. Teach me!"

"Okay," said the main cook, "let's start off making some scrambled egg." Easy enough, right?

"How do you make that?" Kouga truly looked lost.

"Get the frying pan…"

It was going to be a long afternoon for Kouga.

&

Inuyasha entered the kitchens shortly after Kagome left. He surveyed the area. It was fairly clean. There were two large stoves and counters that ran around the walls. Only Kaede was there.

"Kaede, I was wondering…"

"If I could teach you how to cook, huh?" "Kagome must had told her," he thought.

"Yeah, I really hadn't had that much practice before." Actually he hadn't had any practice of any kind before. A prince would never go near the kitchens.

"I've got a secret recipe that Kagome just loves to eat. You make that, and you'll win her heart."

Inuyasha really didn't want to win Kagome's heart, but as long as he beat Kouga, nothing else mattered.

&

Kagome got some water and filled up the tub, more of a big bucket, and had to long soothing bath. She hummed to herself.

Many things ran through her mind. "What is in store for me?" she asked aloud. She sighed and tried to shove all her problems to the side and just concentrated on getting clean.

She changed into her nicest outfit, a fitted white silk shirt with pink trimmings and tan pants. She put her hair up neatly and skipped down the steps. She peaked into the kitchen and saw Inuyasha. He had flour on his face and looked like a mess.

She giggled and he looked up from his bowl that he had been stirring.

"It's not that funny."

She laughed again. "You look hilarious. What are you trying to make?"

"It's for you to find out tonight. My dish is going to be so good, you'll die for more."

"I think I'm going to die trying it." They both laughed at this. "You better hurry and get ready for the dinner shift. I'm going to go around to the neighbors and ask them to come and enjoy your food." Kagome smiled and headed out to get as many customers as she could.

&

Dinner time came around all too soon for Inuyasha and Kouga. Kagome had gotten so many people to come that some people didn't have seats and had to stand by the door.

Kaede and Kagome also got some help to set up the two stoves right in front of where the people were sitting. The two competitors looked nervous. Cooking was not their thing and cooking in front of people was even worse. Kouga was planning to have someone else cook for him, but being out here in the open didn't allow any cheating at all.

Kagome stood in front of the stoves, where Inuyasha and Kouga were standing behind. "Good even ladies and gentlemen," she addressed the people who were seated. "I would like to introduce to you, Kouga and Inuyasha. Tonight they are going to preparing your meals. So I hope you enjoy their dishes!"

People applauded as Kagome walked towards the tables to get their orders. After visiting two tables, she came back and handed one order to Inuyasha and the other one to Kouga.

"Here you guys are. I wish you both good luck." She gave them each a reassuring smile.

The two guys started down at the orders that were given to them. "We won't let you down, darling," spoke Inuyasha. He winked at her and started to prepare the first order: fried fish and beef with broccoli.

Kouga looked hopelessly at his order. How was he supposed to make steamed rice with crab?

Before they went to kitchen to grab what they needed, they stared hard at each other. "May the best man win," Kouga said in a positive attitude.

"That'll be me."

"We'll see how well our _prince_ of China can cook." Kouga looked at him evilly. He had said this too quietly for anyone else but Inuyasha to hear.

"You don't know what you are getting yourself into for saying that." He stomped hard on his foot and left of the kitchens.

Kaede leaned against the wall watching Inuyasha and Kouga. She had taught Inuyasha every trick of the trade that afternoon. Now all she could do was hope that he would win.

"My dear Kagome, what have I done?" Kaede wasn't sure when she would tell Kagome the truth, but right now that was the furthest from her thoughts.

&

Kagome looked up at the two men that were each trying to get their ingredient together. They both were doing this for her. She smiled at this and went around taking more orders.

Inuyasha was going to make this look entertaining. He had many times seen chefs perform while they cooked. It didn't look that hard.

He took some oil and poured it into the frying pan. _"Remember, only put the food in when the oil gets hot," Kaede told him earlier that day._ As the oil warmed, he got the fish. Earlier he had cleaned the fish and scaled it. _"Fish has to be prepared well, or else it won't taste fresh. Season it first and then fry it."_

Inuyasha sprinkled some salt and pepper on it, along with some other that Kaede had told him to use, but he had forgotten the names to.

Then he carefully slipped the fish into the pan and it started to sizzle. Inuyasha grabbed a wine bottle beside the stove and splashed it onto the fish. Fire blazed and he grabbed the handle and flipped the fish high into the air. Everyone in the restaurant turned to see this and stared at him in amazement.

Inuyasha caught the fish with ease and flipped it again.

Kagome stopped dead and looked at him. His golden eyes shown brilliantly though the flames. She grinned at him and at that same moment he smiled at her.

He flipped the fish a couple more time until it was golden brown. It looked delicious. He gawked at it. This was his first platter that has cooked for someone to eat. He wondered how it was taste…

Inuyasha didn't garish the at all. There in the middle of the platter was his fish. He walked over to the table and set the plate down on the table. "Dig in."

The customers eyed the plate before picking up their chopsticks. "Not bad," the man said. Inuyasha beamed to himself. "Thank you."

&

Kouga, on the other hand, was a different story. He got some crab and rice and placed it all in the bowl. "Now what?" He had watched Inuyasha prepare his dish with little difficulty and decided it couldn't be too hard.

But it was.

He placed his bowl in the hot steamer and hoped everything would turn out okay. Kouga returned in about fifteen minutes to retrieve his dish. He carried it quickly to his table and set it in front of the guests. "I hope you like it…" Kouga wasn't sure about his dish at all. The two ladies at his table took off the lid and tried the crab.

The first girl placed some crab in her mouth and instantly spit it out. "What is this? Can you even call this food?"

Kouga had forgotten all of the seasonings and had undercooked the crab. "Yeah, I do call it food! I bet you two can't make steamed crab. You could have ordered fried rice or something!" Kouga was at his boiling point with cooking already, and it had only been about twenty minutes into dinner.

Kagome, hearing the yelling, turned to see where it was coming from. It was Kouga's table.

At the same moment, Inuyasha tossed his beef into the air, and it went all over a family sitting close to him. He apparently couldn't catch many slices of beef. The four that had gotten hit with the beef were all yelling and screaming and trying to get the hot beef off of them.

"This is going to be a long night…" She blew at her hair that was falling on her face and walked over to straighten out the problems.

Just as she was approaching the irritated customers, the door of the restaurant swung open revealing Sango, her family, and…Miroku.

A/N: I had major problems with the ending this time. Usually it is one of the easiest things… but this time I couldn't find a good spot of stop.

So review and tell me how it is going and other stuff like that! Thank you and I love all my readers very much (whether you leave a review or not, I still love you).


	6. Dumplings YUM

A/N: Okay, about Inuyasha supposed to getting married in like a day: not going to happen. I'm going to change what he asked to a week. Be a little more realistic. Sorry about the change. I didn't think it through enough when I put that.

Thank you for all you reviews and readers that read it!

Chapter Six

Dumplings… YUM

After Kagome had been able to get everyone back into their seats, she walked over to where Sango was sitting.

"Good evening Sir, Madam, Sango and…" she turned towards a young man.

"Miroku." He extended his hand towards her. Yet, Kagome didn't shake it.

"Is this the guy that Sango is going to marry?" she wondered as she closely examined him over. He had good features…

Sango nudged Kagome in the side. "Oh, I'm sorry." She realized that Miroku had wanted to shake her hand.

"He is Sango's soon to be husband," Sango's father added as soon as Kagome had let go of Miroku's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Miroku. When are they planning to get married?" She directed the question to Sango's father rather than Sango.

"Just after the examinations. Miroku is of course going to pass them and then they'll be able to start a family of their own."

Sango sunk in her chair at these words.

Changing the subject, Kagome asked, "What can I get you tonight?"

"Whatever you think is good, Kagome. We always like your choices," responded Sango's mother kindly.

"Okay, and can I have a word with you Sango?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back." Sango excused herself from the table and stood to leave.

"Don't be long, dear." Sango rolled her eyes st Miroku's words and followed Kagome upstairs.

&

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Kagome popped the question.

"Do you like him?"

"No, of course not. He tells me that he loves me all the time, when we've only actually met today. It's not love."

"Is there anything else that you don't like about him?"

"He doesn't seem that bad otherwise. At least, not that I have noticed yet. So why is Kouga and that one guy from last night out there cooking?"

"Long story."

"I've got time."

Kagome took a deep breath and told Sango everything that had happened.

"Complicated."

"I'll have to say. We better get back down there. You don't know what could've happened during the time we were up here."

&

Miroku was talking constantly to Sango during their entire meal. Sango only merely nodded in response. Soon they had finished with their dinner and left.

The night went on with little happenings here and there. Inuyasha yelled at his customers for not liking his food and Kouga was unable to make anything decent besides fried rice. By midnight, everyone had gone home and the place was tidy again.

"How do you think tonight went?" Kagome asked the two very tried guys.

"Wonderful, couldn't be better," Inuyasha replied in sarcasm. He was now in a very bad mood and didn't even bother trying to be nice Kagome any longer.

"It went… good, darling," Kouga responded with much effort to force on a smile.

"So I'll give you an hour to make _me _something. This is the final part of the task and will decide who will win this." She was tried as well, but the competition wasn't over yet.

Kagome headed up the steps to lie down on her bed for a while and get some rest before she would have to try their food.

The people that had come to the restaurant didn't appreciate the food, but was entertained by Inuyasha's and Kouga's bad talent. They were amused by it, but surly Inuyasha and Kouga were both in a grouchy mood now that it was getting so late. Kagome tried her best to keep everything civil in the restaurant. "Why do they have to be so violent all the time," she said to herself.

&

Inuyasha knew exactly what he was going to be making for Kagome: dumplings. _"Kagome had always loved dumplings as a child. She would beg me sometimes to make it for her. But you have to make it correctly. The skin and the meat all have to taste good to make it a good dish." _

He took out some flour and began putting together the dough how Kaede had told him. He placed flour and water in a bowl and started to knead it. The flour and water began and turn into dough and he set it aside to work on the filling.

"_Her favorite type to filling is pork. Just take some pork and mix it with ginger, cabbage, one egg white, pepper, salt, oyster sauce, and onion." _Inuyasha made the filling exactly how she had taught him. Now he would have to roll out the dough.

He cut it into ten pieces and grabbed a rolling pin. One by one he carefully took each of them and rolled it out into a circle. They weren't perfectly round, but it was the best he could to.

"Gosh she better enjoy these if I'm spending this much time making them." This entire time, Kouga had disappeared into the kitchens and hadn't returned. "Wonder what he is making?" Inuyasha thought. "Fried rice probably…"

Returning his attention back on his dumplings, he placed one of the skins in his hand and put some of the pork filling in the middle. Inuyasha tried to fold up the edges the way Kaede had showed him. He cursed under his breath. "Why can't I do this?"

In the end, the dumplings were made by just pressing the sides together. He placed all ten in boiling water and waited impatiently. _"Remember to let them boil three times, each time it does boil you much add another ½ cup of water." _

After three times, he scooped them out and placed them on a plate. Beside it, there was soy sauce with vinegar for Kagome to dip it in.

He was finally finished! The prince of China made dumplings for this common girl.

He was about to call for Kagome, but rather decided to check up on Kouga. He peered into the kitchen and not to his surprise, there was another cook.

"What are you doing?" screamed Inuyasha that startled Kouga.

Kouga holding his cook's beautifully finished platter, dropped it on the ground. "You're cheating!"

"What if I am? You can't do anything about it." By that time, the chef had long from left the kitchen.

"I'm going to tell Kagome. She won't believe that you made this."

Even though the food was on the ground, you could still tell that is was once decorated gorgeously with a fish fried perfectly.

"You tell her, and I'll tell her your true identity."

"You are _not_ about to go that far, are you?" Inuyasha questioned him dangerously.

"Yes, I am. For the woman I love, I am." He sounded deadly confident.

Inuyasha could risk anyone knowing his true identity. "Fine, I won't tell her, as long as you don't use this threat against them ever again or I will kill you." He spoke with total seriousness.

"Deal."

&

Inuyasha left the kitchen and waited outside for Kouga to prepare a new dish. He couldn't believe Kouga would threaten him like this, but he couldn't anything about it. He felt like punching Kouga right now, and hard. "If Kagome knew he was a cheater, he might not have to go through with the rest of this competition anymore," he thought.

After about ten minutes, Kouga called out "I'm done!"

"I am too!" Inuyasha yelled, even though he had been for awhile.

Kagome, hearing this, made her way slowly down the stairs. She signed inwardly. When she saw the two standing by their plates, she couldn't help it but smile to them. "They have done this all for me…"

"Whose should I try first?"

"You should eat my fried rice with shrimp, honey."

Inuyasha showed no objection, so Kagome grabbed a spoon to eat Kouga's dish.

"It's… good." The fried rice was say too salty and the chicken was too well done to the point that it was tough.

"I see you made dumplings for me." Kagome's eyes widen. "How had he known that this was her favorite dish?"

The dumplings were not very pretty at their first sight. The skin wasn't folded up nicely together like how Kaede made them, but they were Inuyasha's dumplings.

Kagome picked one up with her chopsticks and dipped it into the vinegar and soy sauce, before placing it into her mouth.

"These are… TERRIFIC! How did you make these? How did you know?"

"I can read your heart, darling." He smirked. "Who wins?"

Kagome knew who had won. It was Inuyasha. "I loved both of your dishes, but Inuyasha won. Dumplings are my favorite and he knew." She looked over at him. He didn't express any thing.

"How does he get to win? He cheated!" Even though Kouga had known fully well that Inuyasha hadn't, he still said it none the less.

"Prove it?" Inuyasha was now getting fed up with him. "He cheats, and now he accuses me? What is wrong with him?"

"Don't start again. There are still two more rounds." When Kagome had been in her room, she had come up with the next task.

"I want you two to race each other one horse back tomorrow. You must retrieve a scarf on the side of a mountain and then race back to me. The first to get back wins."

There was moment of silence. "We should be heading to bed now. You two will race at one tomorrow. Good night."

"Sweet dreams, my dear." Kouga turned and they each gave each other dirty looks before he left, slamming the door behind him.

"How did you know?" Kagome couldn't comprehend how he knew to make them, and they tasted so good.

"I know you inside and out. Nothing goes past me." He laughed jokingly. "I'm going to win tomorrow's task for sure."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Do you not want me to win?"

"I don't know. I don't want to get married to anyone actually."

"I don't either. I don't even know why I'm doing this for you girl."

"It was your choice, not mine. Don't be saying that it's my fault."

"How is it not your fault? If you didn't want to get married to Kouga so darn fast, then I would have thought of giving you the money and none of this would have ever happened!"

"You are impossible!" Kagome stomped up the stairs and into her room leaving Inuyasha to himself. "I can't believe she would say that after I did this for her." He looked at his full plate of dumplings. Kagome had only eaten one.

"What a waste." And he ate the rest before going to bed.

&

At around ten, Kagome set up to hang two scarves the side of a mountain on the outskirts of the town. The scarves were of different colors, a blue one for Kouga and a red one for Inuyasha.

Kagome looked up to the sky. "I hope you chose wisely how is going to win."

She sighed and returned back home.

&

Inuyasha and Kouga were both mounted on their horses.

"On the count of three, you both will go near the mountains and retrieve for me a scarf. One… two… and… THREE!" Kagome yelled as the two took off immediately.

Soon they had come upon a forest. Inuyasha had already begun to take a lead in front of Kouga. But as soon as he entered a forest, hands grabbed him for above and pulled him off of his horse.

"What is going on?" he yelled incredulously.

A/N: Uh oh! What just happened to Inuyasha? He'll be fine. Don't worry. No deaths, at least not yet…

Leave a review to tell me how it is going. Otherwise, I won't know how you think…


	7. Riding

A/N: Since I'm updating quickly and on top of homework and having a life, I am probably making a ton of mistakes, so I'm sorry. Just pretend that they aren't there…

I think my writing is pretty predictable, from the reviews I've received at least. I don't think it is a totally bad thing, but it's like you can already guess the outcome before it's written. Very good readers you all are.

Special thanks to: StrawberryNekoGirl, FrillingFreak, darkmousey-15, D-E-V-L-41, Kagome, and HungarianPrincessRINA.

Kevin: Too demanding… "MAKE MORE NOW," I quote. Jk. I'm writing for you.

Sit down, relax, and enjoy (the show…) the story!

Chapter Seven

Riding

Kagome stood there, watching the two men disappear beyond the horizon. She sighed inwardly before sitting down on the ground. Her legs were pulled close to her face as her chin rested on her knees.

On the other side of the street, the people that once watched had now

retreated back to their usual afternoon tasks.

Breaking the silence, someone stepped up behind her and sat now. Kagome spun her head around to see who it was. It was a man; the same man from the temple.

"Young lady, I want you to know that this is just the first part of your destiny. You still have a long way to walk. Don't look so miserable." He tried to cheer her up. The man sat down beside her.

"Do you know something more? Why won't you tell me."

"That is all I know. And that information was given to me, by you."

Kagome thought back to the time she was at the temple. How right he was and how he had also said that Inuyasha would get married this week. She knew who now: her.

&

"What is going on!" Inuyasha yelled again.

Two men that had been situated on the trees had grabbed him by the arms in midair. They then jumped on the ground, taking Inuyasha with them.

Finally, he got to look into their faces. He had seen them from somewhere, but he couldn't place where. They were both young, maybe just a bit older than Inuyasha himself.

"Get him!" yelled the taller one.

They both made a charge from him at once.

Inuyasha was taken aback for a moment. He hadn't been practicing his fighting ever since he had left the palace. The first man caught him right in the jaw. This brought Inuyasha right back into the game.

He punched the second guy and threw him to the side. The first man came charging at Inuyasha again, but this time wouldn't be so lucky. Inuyasha jumped up and swung around, kicking him hard on the back and making him fall on his face.

With that, Inuyasha placed his foot on the man's head, not allowing him to stand up. "Who sent you?" He spoke as he pressed his foot harder on the man's head that was trying to get up.

"I'm… not… telling…" the man mumbled.

"Tell and I'll spare your life." While saying this, he pulled out a dagger from his boot and placed it close to his attacker's face. Inuyasha was thankful that he had kept this dagger with him. He had only carried it for protection; he actually didn't want to kill some civilian. Now the person that sent him was dead meat.

"O…kay…" Inuyasha lifted his foot a bit to give the man air.

"It was… Kouga."

"I knew it." Inuyasha spat. Yesterday Kouga had cheated, and Inuyasha had been nice enough to let him off, but today he would get it.

Then Inuyasha remembered that he was still in a race. These two men had been placed her just to kill Inuyasha's time.

"You got lucky today." Inuyasha said and ran off towards his horse just up ahead in the forest. He hopped on with grace and kicked his horse in the side. "You have to go fast."

&

Fifteen minutes had past since Kouga and Inuyasha had ridden off. Kagome was still sitting on the ground with the old man from the temple by her side. "If fate has already chosen Inuyasha, then why do I even bother with this whole competition?" Kagome said more to herself then to the man.

"Are that of a strong believer into those superstitions?" It was unusual to hear this from a man that spent his days reading those sticks…

"You don't believe in those?" Even now, Kagome fully believed in those things.

The man shrugged. "I hate my life." She put her head down to her knees.

&

Inuyasha knew he was very far behind now, and there was probably no way of winning, but it was all worth a try. As he started to approach a clearing, Kouga was on his way back with the scarf.

He leaped off his horse, and with the momentum, he kicked Kouga off his horse. Kouga fell and rolled on the ground.

"You sent those two men!"

"I don't know what you are talking about." He got up to his feet and started staggering back to his horse.

"Not so fast." Inuyasha stood between Kouga and the horse. Kouga took his hand, about to push Inuyasha to the side.

He shoved the raised arm to the side. "Get of my way. I'm going to win this."

"You are such a…"

"Save it. No one can be rich with honesty. And no one can get the girl without a little rough play."

At the words 'rough play', Inuyasha pounced on Kouga. Kouga defended and pulled out his dagger and held it to Inuyasha's throat.

"I'm never going to play fair. You ought to know that. I could kill you right now… and then all of China will be mine." Kouga laughed at this.

"You wouldn't last as the ruler of China." Inuyasha interjected.

"We'll have to see." Kouga pressed the dagger closer to his throat.

As he was contemplating to kill Inuyasha right now or not, Inuyasha took this chance to take a quick step back and ran for his horse.

"You coward!"

Kouga yelled at Inuyasha, who was taking off at full speed toward the mountain. He cursed Kouga the whole way there. "Who does he think he is?"

Fuming, Inuyasha snatched the red scarf and raced back towards Kagome.

After passing through the woods, Inuyasha caught sight of Kouga just little bit ahead of him. If he kept up his pace, he might even over take him.

Inuyasha rode with totally concentration and a little before the finish, he was just behind Kouga.

Kouga turned around, hearing the horse hooves nearing. Wide eyed, he exclaimed, "How did you ride so fast!"

Inuyasha smirked. Now the two were nearing on Kagome. She sat huddled up into a ball. The man beside her nudged her gently, indicating the arrival of Inuyasha and Kouga.

Kagome stood up with a start and peered across the horizon. Kouga was just a little ahead of Inuyasha. The two of them were each going extremely fast.

Inuyasha's horse started to slow. It didn't have enough strength left to overcome Kouga.

The finish was only seconds away…

Kouga kicked his horse hard in the side and made it go even faster. Inuyasha was still slightly behind.

Kagome watched desperately at the side lines. Kouga swept past her and Inuyasha followed right behind, losing.

He jumped off of his horse and strutted over to Kagome. "I knew I wouldn't let you down, honey. I'm going to win the next one and then we can get married." He winked at her as she rolled her eyes.

"Stop with the mush." Inuyasha was still situated on his horse. "He wouldn't have beaten me, since…" He didn't get a chance to finish before Kagome burst out.

"You just can't get over yourself that Kouga won. Not everything revolves around you, Inuyasha. So try to get over yourself. Kouga won." She couldn't believe that Inuyasha was so self-centered and with that she turned her back to leave.

"She hates your guts now." Kouga jeered.

"Like I care." And Inuyasha didn't care.

&

As Inuyasha turned his back and followed Kagome back, Kouga yelled out. "What's the third task?"

"Darn," thought Kagome. She hadn't even thought about it. "What do you guys want it to be?" she asked drearily. "If fate has it out for me, it shouldn't matter. It's all because of that man- got her wound up about fate," she continued to ponder.

"A fight." Inuyasha replied simply. He wanted to pulverize Kouga, and now he would have a reason to do so.

"Time?" Kagome didn't feel like deciding anymore

"This evening at the town center," responded Kouga this time. He had a wide grin on his face. "What is he up to?" thought Inuyasha.

"I'm going to set up a stage," Kouga went on, "I'll gather a crowd. It's going to be magnificent."

"At town center? Why?" Kagome looked confused, as did Inuyasha.

"Everyone needs to know what these competition events are for. We'll announce that it is for your marriage, my darling. Won't you like that?"

"Not really…" She shot Inuyasha a worried look.

"We can always do it here," he suggested, looking around at the deserted area. He knew that Kagome didn't want people to know about her marriage and neither did he. If he was to win, then it would better just to leave Kagome with the money and not to get married… but Kouga was now pressuring them.

"You don't want to fight me in public. Are you… scared?"

"OF COURSE NOT! I'll fight you in public today!" Inuyasha had lost his temper… He knew it right after he said it. Kouga had gotten to him.

"Fantastic!" Kagome huffed and fumed all the way back home.

&

"Look, I'm sorry." Kagome was sitting down at a table as Inuyasha walked in after he had tied up his horse.

"You are far from being sorry."

"I have to marry you, girl, if I win!"

"I was hoping that no one would know, so then if you did win, I wouldn't have to marry you and you wouldn't be stuck with me either."

"Good plan, but that isn't going to work anymore."

"Really? I didn't know that," she replied sarcastically.

There was a pause of silence before Inuyasha spoke. "I can't believe I'm doing this for _you_…" He didn't understand either.

"Now don't I feel loved."

"I, at least, had enough sense to care… well more so because it was Kouga."

Kagome rolled her eyes and simply left, leaving Inuyasha alone.

&

"Everyone, I need a stage ready by this evening. I want this whole town to be here. We are going to have the best duel ever!" Kouga commanded his workers.

Kouga knew that Inuyasha wouldn't be able to marry Kagome, a common girl. Doing this, would force him into defeat.

&

Just as the sun was setting, Kouga and Inuyasha stood on opposite sides of the stage prepared for a fight.

Kagome sat attentively in the front row.

The stage was beautifully decorated with ribbons and banners. Practically, everyone that lived in the town had come out to watch the two fight. An announcer stood on a podium and called for silence.

"We have all gathered here this evening to watch Kouga," there was applause as Kouga smiled and waved, "and Inuyasha." Again, there was clapping as Inuyasha merely nodded to the crowd. He also took this moment to nod at Kagome.

"This duel will determine Miss Kagome's husband." There were whispers among the crowd. "The rules are simple: each competitor will get to use one sword. The one to have his opponent surrender in defeat will win the fair lady." The announcer stepped down from the podium.

"On the sound of the cannon."

BANG!

A cannon was shot and Inuyasha pulled out his beautifully crafted sword and charged right at Kouga. At the same time, he had pulled out his sword and was running right for Inuyasha.

"This battle between these two men for Kagome is going to look interesting," yelled the announcer to the crowd, which was going wild.

Kagome was now at the edge of her seat. She watched as Kouga striked Inuyasha…

A/N: Am I too predicable? Tell me who you think is going to win and I'll find out.

Review! My chapters are coming out very steadily: updated every Saturday so far, so if you want to read, that would be the day to check.


	8. Examinations

A/N: About the ink thing (you'll see later on). Back then, the ink wasn't in bottle form. It was in like a block form and you would have to take a little thing (rectangular prism piece of wood) and rotate it on the ink so then it would be writable. So I hope that will clear things up a bit.

The exams were about two- three days long. Here it is just two. The test would be really hard and usually only the upper classmen/ elite had time and money to study and prepare for them. They would be over the Confucianism classical works.

I think I described the exams about correct. I've watched a movie over it, so it should be depicted in the right manner. I've also learned about it in world history, so I hope the facts are historical. This story takes place in like Tang/ Ming. I don't really have a set one. But I think the Ming has the forbidden palace and the Tang has the examinations.

So here it is: Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Examinations

Inuyasha fell back from the blow; he had not moved away quickly enough to dodge Kouga's attack. Kouga left just a slight cut on Inuyasha's upper arm. He got up and this time was more prepared. "Darn, I haven't fought in such a long time," he breathed.

He held his sword up in front of his face and swung at Kouga's head. Kouga moved to the side and blocked Inuyasha's sword with his own. Inuyasha pushed hard and held the sword tightly. Kouga pulled his sword away and Inuyasha lunged forward.

Kouga swung again and this time Inuyasha and Kouga were clashing swords. Their swords were sparring and with each swing it blocked each other's blows.

In the background, Inuyasha heard the announcer's voice and the crowd. He tried to block out all the noise and concentrated on Kouga. Kouga seemed to be getting exhausted from deflecting all of his hits. Every single time Inuyasha would swing, it would be with all his might… and heart. He had never fought with such passion before. And for what? A common girl.

By this time, the two men were worn-out from striking and clashing swords. Inuyasha knew he had to do something different before he ran out of energy. He stopped swinging and kicked off from the platform.

Inuyasha leaped about 6 feet in the air above Kouga. Kouga looked up in astonishment. It had taken Inuyasha years of practice to be able to do this.

Inuyasha dived right in front of his opponent. Kouga held his sword in defense, but just before landing he turned to Kouga's backside and held the sword to his neck. With his leg, he kicked Kouga's sword from his hand.

The battle and competition between the two was finally finished. Inuyasha zoned back into what was going on around him.

"And the winner is… INUYASHA!" the announcer screamed, hardly audibly over the crowd that was standing up and cheering from him. Kagome was even standing up.

Inuyasha looked over at her. His sword was still gripped tightly on Kouga neck.

"You can take your sword off me down. That was just luck that you won. I was beating you till the very end when you kicked off from the ground," he said, then after a long pause he added, "Good job… prince."

"Thank you, my dear cousin. You actually put up a fight." Inuyasha smirked at Kouga and he just scowled back at him. He didn't know, but for those few moments they were acting like civilized cousins…

Then Kouga added, "You can't marry her."

Inuyasha understood why he had said that. He was the prince after all. How was he going to get himself out of this one?

Inuyasha took his sword and put it back into its sheath. Kouga didn't say anything more to him and left the stage with his head drooped. "He must have loved her… but she wouldn't have been happy with him…" he thought.

The announcer was walking towards Inuyasha. "So, Inuyasha, when do you plan on marrying this young girl?" The crowd grew quiet to hear his response.

The announcer motioned for Kagome to join them on stage. Kagome still in shock over the whole matter walked slowly onto the stage.

Now that Kagome and Inuyasha were standing beside one another, the announcer repeated his question, "When do you two plan on getting married?"

The crowd was stirring and whispering. Neither one answered. Inuyasha nudged Kagome and whispered, "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know…" Her eyes were gleaming in the moonlight. Night had already fallen and everything was getting dark.

"I would like to marry Kagome…" Inuyasha started, but didn't know how to finish.

"We will get marry, but we haven't decided on a date yet," Kagome finished.

"Yes, of course. You two are still young. Don't want marriage to tie you down."

"Yes, exactly. I would like to still view more of China and learn more until I will be able to support a family," Inuyasha answered. "But I will marry Kagome." He pulled her close to him. "She is the dearest love of my life."

These last few lines seemed to have satisfied the audience. "Have a good night everyone and thanks for coming out and supporting Inuyasha and Kouga." The announcer tied things up and patted Kagome and Inuyasha on the back. "Wish you two the best of the future."

&

Kagome moved away from Inuyasha as soon as the announcer had left. She blushed and looked at the ground.

"Is your arm okay?" The cut wasn't that deep, but it was still bleeding.

"I'm fine and a 'thank you' would be nice too.'"

She lifted her head, the softness from her eyes were gone. "Thank you, Inuyasha, my dear future husband."

"Look, I don't want to get married to you."

"And how are we going to not get marry, huh?"

Inuyasha couldn't get married to her. He was the prince. A prince of China could NOT get married to a common girl, even he wanted to, his parents would both oppose it.

"Think of something. You were the one that came up with this great idea of a competition." Kagome gritted her teeth.

Before Inuyasha could respond, Sango and Miroku had made their way on the stage. Sango embraced Kagome. "How is everything?" She had heard the two arguing from afar.

"Everything is fine, Sango. It's just that we can't think of a way to not marry each other. That's all."

"Oh…"

During Kagome's and Sango's conversation, Miroku and Inuyasha were getting pretty close.

"Nice to meet you, Inuyasha. I'm Miroku, Sango's soon to be husband. I loved your move that you made at the end."

"Nice to meet you Miroku."

"I'm going to be taking the examinations tomorrow and then we'll get married. You really don't have a date to marry Kagome?"

"No, I don't… There are just some things to hard to explain."

"Wait, you're Inuyasha…" Miroku was racking his brain to remember where he had read of that name, and then it came to him. He leaned over and whispered into Inuyasha's ear, "You're the prince, aren't you?"

Many people of this small town were not literate or else hadn't had the education to learn about China's government. The royalty did not allow anyone in all of China to have their name. So Inuyasha was a unique name only to the prince. Not a single other person would have that name.

"How do you know?" Inuyasha couldn't believe this commoner could tell her was the prince.

"Only one person would have the name Inuyasha… and that's the prince," he said in his ear again.

"This guy is educated. When he had arrived here, he had forgotten about that fact. He wasn't thinking…" he thought.

Inuyasha pulled Miroku away from the girls and commanded, "Don't you dare tell anyone about this. Do you understand?"

Miroku, remembering his place, went down on his knees. "Your highness, spare me. I promise to never speak a word of it."

"Get up! I don't want to attract anymore attention. Keep calling me Inuyasha, and I won't kill you." He was deadly serious. If his cover was blown, his life would be in danger. The kingdom had many enemies. He was also the only heir that was directly linked to the king. Killing him would result in taking rule.

Miroku got up, slightly shaken now. Inuyasha patted him on the back reassuringly. "Don't spill and nothing is going to happen to you."

"What about Kagome? How are you going to marry her?"

Good question… "Do you have any ideas?"

He looked thoughtfully and after a few minutes he answered. "The examinations. If you fail them on purpose then, you could say that you aren't worthy enough for Kagome."

A smile spread on Inuyasha's face. "Of course. Failing anything is easy; it's passed that is the problem." The two then walked back to announce their idea.

&

Kagome and Sango turned as the two guys returned. "What were you guys talking about so secretly over there," questioned Kagome.

"I just came up with a plan on how to not marry you," he smirked.

Kagome looked skeptically at him. "Let's hear your _brilliant_ plan."

"I knew you would want to hear," he grinned, "I'm going to be taking the examinations with Miroku."

"How is that in any way going to help us?"

"This is where by brilliance comes in. I proclaim to everyone in this town that if I pass the exams I will marry you since I would be able to support you, but of course if I fail… I won't."

"And the dowry money?"

"I'm giving you that tonight. Stop worrying about that. The government shouldn't have raised the taxes." Inuyasha made a mental note to himself of this issue. He would return back home with it to try to resolve this problem. Some people were living month by month with no extra savings, a tax raise could bring ruins to them.

"Thank you, Inuyasha." For once, Kagome sounded sincere.

"Since you are thankful that I am doing this for you… how about you repay me?"

She pondered over what Inuyasha would want her to do. "Umm… what do you want me to do exactly?"

"Just say yes."

"…Yes…"

"You are going to be my maid for the rest of my stay, my lovely wife."

"I hate you."

"I hate you more."

&

Throughout this whole time, Sango and Miroku were standing on the side and watching them.

"They look so cute together," Miroku acknowledged to Sango.

Sango waved her hand in front of Miroku's face. "They are arguing, if you didn't notice."

"Sure they are, but they look like a couple. It's like it was meant to be."

She looked at Inuyasha and Kagome. Together they did look like a couple. Too bad, it wasn't going to work out.

"Let's go home now." Kagome told Sango and Miroku.

"Come my dear, it's getting late and I have the exam tomorrow." Miroku wrapped his arm around Sango's shoulder.

Sango moved away from his reach and the two pairs walked home.

&

Kagome and Inuyasha bickered the entire way back. Sango and Miroku bid their good byes when they parted ways to return home.

"So now that you are my maid, I would like you to make me some dinner when we get back."

"In your dreams."

"Then I wouldn't give you your money that you need."

"Is that a threat?"

"You bet it is. I'm hungry." Inuyasha's stomach grumbled at this. "And you better not make anything burnt," he added.

"And I'll be sure to give you some nice, hot tea with it." Kagome smiled. She hoped that Inuyasha wouldn't make her do anything to terrible. He did deserve something in return from her, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

It was really late when they got back to her restaurant. Kagome stepped into the kitchens to prepare Inuyasha a quick dish.

&

Fifteen minutes passed before she returned. In her hand carried white rice and chicken with vegetables. "Where's the tea?" Inuyasha joked as she set his dinner down.

"I only have two hands, you know." Just before Kagome was about to leave to bring back some tea, Inuyasha stopped her.

"It's alright. You're hungry too. Eat."

"He's actually being nice to me," she thought.

"Okay." Kagome sat down right away and dug in. "E-eat," she said with her mouth full. Inuyasha had been staring at her this whole time.

"Slow down, you're going to choke." And he grabbed some chopsticks and ate with her.

&

After they had finished their dinner, Inuyasha rose from his seat. "Wait here, I'm going to go and get the money you need."

"Okay." Kagome cleared the dishes as Inuyasha leap up the steps to his room to retrieve the money.

He got out 1,000 yen from one of his sacks. He returned downstairs and handed her the money. "Here you go."

"I hardly know you and I can't believe you are giving me all this money." Tears fell from Kagome's face and onto the sack.

"Don't cry. I hate it when women cry."

She sniffed back the tears. "It's out of happiness though," Kagome paused for a moment, "I'm will be able to repay you one day."

"Save it. We probably won't see each other after I leave her. Just pretend that I didn't do it for you, but just for the well-being of China." And that was he was supposed to do with all the money that he had brought with him.

"Good night then," Inuyasha said after there a long period of silence.

"Good night," Kagome responded, her eyes not meeting his.

&

The next morning, Inuyasha rose early. The exams were being held today. Anyone was allowed to enter if they had the money for the entrance fee. Of course he had the money.

He dressed quickly and walked to Kagome's room. "She must be still asleep."

He opened the door and walked right in. "Rise and shine, my dear wife!" he said as he threw open the curtains, letting the sun shine through.

Kagome stirred under the covers. "Who is that?" she thought groggily. She slowly opened her eyes to find no other than Inuyasha standing at her side.

"AHHH! GET OUT OF MY ROOM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?" Kagome screamed.

"I DON'T NEED TO GET YELLED AT FOR WAKING YOU UP." Inuyasha screamed right back and slammed the door behind him on the way out. "That girl…" he fumed.

Kagome couldn't believe he had gone into her room again. She got up since she couldn't fall back to sleep and went down stairs. Again, there was Inuyasha sitting at a table waiting for breakfast. "Every where I go, I see him… It's a curse. My terrible fate."

"Girl!" Inuyasha said making her stop in her tracks. "I had a good intention in waking you up, and now I would like some breakfast before the exam."

"No you did not. You just don't go into a girl's room without knocking."

"But I am your soon to be husband."

"We aren't getting married after you take that exam."

"Unless I pass."

"I thought you didn't want to marry me more than I wanted to marry you?"

Very true. Inuyasha didn't want to marry her, but playing with her was fun. "Just get me breakfast."

"All I do is cook," she complained to herself.

&

It was nearing nine o'clock, when Kagome and Inuyasha finally made it to the town center to sign up for the exams. Myoga had tagged along this time, since examinees were allowed one "helper" (to make the ink and to cook the meals during the two day stay).

They waited in a long line. Finally it was their turn.

"Name?" A guard asked Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha."

"Last name too."

He couldn't tell him his real last name or else they would know for sure. "Hashimoto."

"Place of origin."

"Shenyang." Once again, a lie.

"Lift up your arms."

Inuyasha lifted them reluctantly to be searched. During these exams, there was so much cheating going on, these precautions had to be taken.

"Wow, I'm learning more about him than I have over the past few days," thought Kagome as she stood on the side and watched Inuyasha being searched.

The guard found nothing and let Inuyasha answer some more questions on a sheet of paper.

"Address? The forbidden palace," he laughed. "Girl, what is your address?" he asked.

"Why mine? Put yours."

"Just tell me."

"6 Yung Sheng."

Inuyasha filled out the rest of the sheet with more lies. At least he'll be able to get his score within a month or two at Kagome's place.

Inuyasha handed over the fee to the guard and the question sheet.

"Thank, sir," spoke the guard. "And who will be accompanying you during these tests?"

"I will," Myoga said and walked to the side of his master.

"No, I think the girl will do."

Myoga's head fell. He had wanted to help Inuyasha, but Kagome seemed to have been taking care of him during this whole stay here.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you girl."

"Kagome! Be a little respectful."

"Lift up your arms," interjected the guard.

Inuyasha crossed his arms and looked at Kagome. "This girl…"

&

Everyone else that was taking the exams were looking much more serious and nervous than Inuyasha. These men had studied years and years just for this day. This test would reveal their future; either poverty or fortune.

&

"You may go in now," the guard handed them a room number and pushed them through the gates. "The tests are going to start this noon, so eat and be ready."

Myoga handed Kagome a sack full of clothes and food before she entered. "Thanks, Myoga."

Inuyasha and Kagome entered through the gates. Inside were little compartments for each of the examinees. "Number 4"

"The unlucky number…" Kagome said in dismay.

"It's not like you want me to do well."

There was a pause of silence.

"I forgot to announce that if I don't pass then I'm not going to marry you!" Inuyasha couldn't believe he forgot such an important fact. He rushed back out into the square.

"I WANT TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT EVERYONE! I AM GOING TO TAKE THESE EXAMS TO ENSURE THE BRIGHTEST FUTURE FOR KAGOME. IF I DON'T PASS THEN I WON'T DESERVE HER. SO EVERYONE WISH ME LUCK!" he hollered over the people there.

There were shouts of good luck and awe for how much he "loved" her.

"That sure sounded mushy. Yuck," he said to himself.

He returned to where Kagome was standing. "Mission accomplished."

"Beautiful job." Kagome didn't know how to response otherwise.

&

Kagome made their small compartment a little more at home. She had prepared lunch and now they were just waiting for the proctor to come and hand Inuyasha the test.

Across from her, the other examinee was sitting and waiting for the test as well. Kagome had seen that face from somewhere. The person didn't seem to notice that Kagome was at him.

Then she remembered the face. Kagome couldn't believe who it was.

"Sango?"

A/N: What is Sango doing there? Hehe, you'll find out next chapter.

FYI: Only men were allowed to test for government and official position, so that's why it is weird that she is there. She is dressed up like a guy too, since Kagome first thinks that it is a guy. Just in case you didn't get that part.

The updates are going to be slower after this, just fair warning. Finals are coming and I hate finals.


	9. Feelings of Compassion

A/N: It is winter break! I'm so happy! No school, no finals and plus a great story to read. (jk, it's far from great)

I forgot to explain this about their cubicles/ compartment. It has two cots and a desk by a window. The window didn't have glass; it pretty much is an opening so the proctors can watch the examinees so they don't cheat. Also picking up and tests and handing the out would be much more convenient.

So I'm sorry for the delay in updates, but I had finals. So now that they are done, chapters should be coming out steady. Hopefully.

Hope you like it. Think of it as like a Christmas present from me to all my readers. My story, not just this chapter.

Chapter Nine

Feelings of Compassion

"Sango," Kagome said again, getting the person's attention, who was sitting across from her.

Sango heard her name being called and turned to look at Kagome. She was shocked to see Kagome there. A proctor was now approaching Sango and Inuyasha to hand them their first test.

She quickly shook her head and placed a finger upon her lips, signaling Kagome not to say anything further. Inuyasha looked over at Kagome oddly wondering what she was doing. "Who are you looking at?" he asked.

"Umm…" Before she had time to come up with an answer the proctor interrupted her. "No talking during the tests."

"Sorry," they both respond at the same moment. Inuyasha and Kagome looked down, avoiding each other's eyes.

Inuyasha was handed a single piece of paper by the proctor. He didn't even bother to read it and started writing. "If I'm going to fail this, I'm going to at least show them that I can write well."

He was taught as a child by the greatest schoolmaster of all of China. He had learned to read at the age of four and written essays at the age of seven. Inuyasha knew well that if he were to try to pass these exams, his chances of doing so weren't bad. Not many citizens were able to receive the type of education he had gotten his entire life.

Inuyasha wrote down what came to him first, his trip.

_A boy, or even a young man, was set free just days ago, to see the real world. Living in just a fantasy for fifteen years, a dream even. Not being able to know the hurt and dangers of China. _

He paused for a moment. It almost didn't seem like him to write this way; writing with so much love and care. He adverted his gaze on Kagome. She was slowing rotating a block of wood on the ink for him to write with.

_And a girl came into this boy's life. She taught him something new ever single day she was with him, even though she didn't know it. She taught him love and compassion. The boy had never felt so motivated to help anyone before, but her…_

Inuyasha wrote and wrote. He used up all the time given for the question. It felt good to put all his feelings on a piece of paper. All the things that had happened to him over his stay here.

&

During this whole time, Kagome's mind fixed on one person: Sango. "Why was she doing here? Does she know how much trouble she would get in if anyone was to find out? What about Miroku? What is he going to think when he sees her here?" Questions kept on coming and there were no answers for her insight.

After awhile, she looked over to see what Inuyasha was writing about. His handwriting was pretty- very elegant. The characters were all written in cursive; it even looked like a work of art.

"Time!" all the proctors yelled in unison and picked up all the tests. "You can talk now," the same proctor that had given Inuyasha the test told them and took Inuyasha's papers.

"So, how do you think you did?" Kagome asked.

"Fabulous," he smiled.

"What was the question?"

He shrugged. "What did you write about then?"

"You didn't read it?" Inuyasha had forgotten that Kagome could've just peered over his shoulder to read every word he wrote.

"No… I can't read." Kagome responded sadly.

"Oh, well, I just wrote down a much of nothing. Don't worry." It didn't occur to Inuyasha that Kagome didn't know how to read, but it was a good thing as well. He didn't want her reading what he had just wrote. She might even think he liked her, which he absolutely did not.

"Well, that's good. You have one more test to go and then we can have some dinner."

Their break lasted for fifteen minutes, but everyone was to remain in the cubicle.

The next test was short answer, and once again Inuyasha didn't read the questions and just responded.

&

Night fell and the tests were collected. Kagome got up for her seat from beside Inuyasha and prepared dinner. Each examinee was given a small stove in which to cook rice and other foods.

"Dinner better taste good. I just spent an entire day taking tests for you."

"Well, I feel very loved that you would sacrifice that much for me, Inuyasha," Kagome replied before heading out to cook in the open rather than in the tiny compartment.

Outside Sango was squatting near her own stove. Sango had not bothered bring along a servant afraid that he/she would tell on her. She didn't notice Kagome approaching, the tests had drained the energy out of her.

Kagome walked slowly up to Sango and set her own stove by hers. At this time, Sango looked up.

Her face was covered with dark powder, hiding Sango's more soft skinned face. She had dressed like a man, wearing a dark robe with pants underneath.

"Kagome…"

This time, Kagome held a finger up to her lips. She didn't want to attract any attention and most importantly, not wanting to get Sango caught for being here.

Kagome squatted down and close to Sango. She whispered softly, "You don't need to explain to me now. Just don't get caught."

Sango nodded in understanding. The both cooked in silence and pretended to not even know one another.

&

Everyone was awakened at the crack of dawn. Three more periods of testing awaited them and then they were able to leave in the evening.

Inuyasha yawned loudly and stretched about his arms. "This was the worst night I have ever spent in my life. This cot is as hard as a rock." He waited for a response from Kagome and when receiving none, noticed that Kagome was still asleep.

"Wake up, sleep head," he said as he shook her awake. "How can you sleep so soundly on a cot like this?"

"Uhhh…" Kagome mumbled rubbing her eyes.

"Come on. Get up. Testing is about to start and I can't test well if I don't get breakfast."

"All you do is eat," she said more audibly this time.

"Not true. I eat and take tests. And let me remind who I am doing this for."

"For me. Okay, I'm getting up." Kagome shook her head at him and got out some porridge for him. "You know, I hardly know you and yet, you have been doing _all_ these things for me. How so?" she asked as she set down his breakfast in front of you.

"Would you like it if I hadn't?"

"You didn't answer me."

Inuyasha didn't know how to answer. Why is he doing this? He didn't know.

"Out of pity."

Wrong answer. "OUT OF PITY! I don't need you to pity me. I could be very well off if you hadn't come along. Things would still be find. I don't need the likes of you to pity me." Kagome was red in the face.

"That's… not exactly what I meant…"

"But that was you answer!"

"Would you let me finish!"

"Fine, tell me what you truly mean then."

"I felt bad that you were going to marry Kouga. I didn't want you to throw away your life like that. I had the money, so it was in my reach to help you. That's all."

"Happy?" he added after Kagome didn't respond.

She turned and gave him the biggest smile. "Yeah, I wouldn't have to ask you why again now. So eat up and take the test and fail and then we can get out of here."

He had to laugh at her. "Women…" he said under his breath.

"I heard that you know," she said, but smiled at him all the same.

&

Miroku was handed his third test. He took a deep breath before reaching for his brush. "I can do this, I can do this," he said in his head and read the question given to him.

"_Describe the government and how it has changed over the years since the beginning of Chinese history."_

Miroku started to panic. How was he going to answer this question in only two hours? The government had changed many of times and the government today was not easy to explain either, with all of its laws and different officials.

Across from him, the guy was taking off his wig. Apparently he had shaved off his hair. On his head, there was column after column of characters. Miroku squinted to see what it read.

It was the answer to this very question. How had he gotten the question in advance? There was plenty of answers to that: bribing the proctors or having an inside hand with the bureaucrats that made the tests.

But with the answer right in front of him it wouldn't be too hard to write it now. Miroku squinted some more to get the basic idea of the answer. However, to his dismay, he guy held up a mirror to see what was on his head, blocking Miroku's view. "I won't be cheating then…" Miroku thought.

Something else caught his attention now. To the left of the man that was holding up the mirror was another man- cheating. This guy had poured out of bag of rice and a magnifying glass. He was assembling the pieces of rice into his essay.

"Good luck with that," Miroku scoffed. "I'm going to write this myself, without cheating," he smiled. He looked over at the proctor, wondering why he hadn't noticed this.

The proctor saw it alright, but didn't say a word. "They must have bribed the proctors here… What is the government of China coming to with all these cheaters as officials?" And he began writing furiously.

&

Soon enough the test was over and everyone was packing up and heading home. "Finally I'm done," Inuyasha stretched out his arms and leaned back into his chair as Kagome packed up their belongings.

"Yeah, I'm glad it's all over, but you won't get your results till six months later."

"I am not going to pass. Not chance at all."

"Seeing that you wrote so much…"

"I didn't want to look like a complete idiot. It is under my name. I didn't read any of the questions, I just wrote stuff."

"Alright," Kagome had secured the last of their bags and handed one for Inuyasha to carry, "we can go now."

Inuyasha got up from his seat and followed Kagome out. Just as they went beyond the exit, someone snatched Kagome from behind.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha screamed her name. He ran right for the brush that Kagome had disappeared in. He saw a person holding her and covering her mouth so she wouldn't scream. Inuyasha punched the person right in the face. The person had let go of Kagome and she fell into Inuyasha's arms.

"Are you okay?" he said with concern.

Kagome looked up wide eyed at him. Then regaining her senses to the whole situation, she stood up and ran over to the person.

"Are you okay Sango?" Kagome asked holding her friend in her arms.

"Sango!"

"Yeah, why did you punch her like that?" she yelled at him.

"I thought she was going to hurt you. And why is Sango dressed that way?"

"I don't know either. She was probably going to explain, but you really give her the chance."

"She could've have come by at the restaurant like any other person. But no, she decides to snatch you and pull you in here."

"Just give me a hand here and carry her home. You must have punched her really hard; Sango isn't weak."

"I did get her in the face…" He picked Sango up and lifted her onto his back. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean too."

"Uh huh," that was all Sango could manage.

&

Kagome and Inuyasha brought Sango back to the restaurant and gave her some ice for her cheek, which was now swelling.

"Can you talk?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt that much anymore. You do have one good punch to save your wife here," Sango said and looked over at Inuyasha.

He blushed at this. "I would have done it for anyone, not just for her."

"Sure…"

"So Sango, tell me why you were there, taking the exams."

"You both must swear not to tell any one." She looked over at Kagome and then to Inuyasha. They both shook their heads in agreement and listened to Sango.

"Okay, here it goes. I went to take the exams because…"

A/N: Sorry I had to leave it off there. You'll find the reason out next chapter. Promise It's like the same cliff hanger last time. I was thinking about telling the reason and then ending that chapter, but then it wouldn't be a good ending…

Thanks for reading and review please!


	10. Reasons

A/N: Winter Break is the best! I wish everyone a very cheerful Christmas and best wishes for the New Year that shall be filled with so many new and happy memories.

So finally you will get the reason you have all being waiting for! I hope it is a satisfying reason, seeing that you had to wait two chapters for it… Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

Reasons

"… because I wanted to prove myself and also because of … Miroku."

"Miroku?" Kagome asked in confusion.

Sadness filled Sango's eye's as she continued, "Yes, Miroku. My dad has been telling me over and over again how wonderful a husband he would make for me. Miroku is well educated, a gentleman. What more could I possibly ask for? But I have been educated as a child as well! I could do just as good on those exams as Miroku can. So I wanted to prove to myself and everyone else that a girl can pass those exams, work for the government, and not need a man to lean on." Tears slid down her face.

"Oh… don't cry," Kagome patted her back and tried to sooth her.

"So I really hope that I did pass it. Through out the whole thing I was afraid that I would get caught and thrown out. That's why I pulled you into the brush today. I didn't want you telling Kaede or anyone else that I was there. I'm sorry for doing that. I must have scared you, Kagome."

"It's okay."

Inuyasha, who had been listening quietly this whole time, spoke up, "I agree with you Sango." The two girls turned to look at him. "The government shouldn't suppress women. Women that do have the intelligence and the education should be allowed to take part in the government. Our government wants to recruit the most talented of people. But then that number is limited to only men when women aren't even allowed to participate."

Sango couldn't believe her ears. Inuyasha, a man, had agreed with her on this issue. "I didn't know you…" she began.

"I do care for the government. Yes. This is our country. We must try to make it the best." Sango had made him care of his nation like he had never before. Being the prince of China for his entire life, he hadn't felt the need to think about the government and how everyone else in China lived. He had accepted the way things were run. Soon, he would be able to rule and he would be able to change the laws and make his people respect him and his nation an even stronger one.

Kagome smiled at him. He didn't seem the caring type at first sight. But now, being with him and hearing these words, she knew that he did have a good heart. "So you're going to go against your parents word and not get married?" she asked her friend.

"This marriage wasn't arranged recently. It was in agreement when we were both just children. For my parents to tell Miroku's parents that I won't get married would… would just be a disgrace for our family's name… I don't know what to do, Kagome."

"Just get to know him a little better… maybe he isn't so bad…" She forced on a weak smile.

"Why don't you two spend a day together? All four of us?" Inuyasha suggested.

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you planning?"

Inuyasha could believe he was now playing match maker between Sango and Miroku. "Well, tomorrow I was planning on making Kagome come with me to go hunting and then spend a night out in the wilderness. She would cook and skin the animals…"

"How does that have anything to do with Sango and Miroku?" She was getting irritated at Inuyasha making her do all these things in front of Sango.

"See, that is where we plans were going to have to change. Instead of it being just you and me, Kagome," he smirked at her, "Sango and Miroku could join us. It wouldn't be as awkward since there will also be the two of us with them? Right?"

She nudged her friend slightly. "Sango, how does it sound to you?"

"It's really very kind of you, Inuyasha, but I really don't think…"

"Then it's settled. We'll see you tomorrow here in the morning. You better go home and get some rest. You look really tired and remember to tell Miroku about these plans." Kagome pushed Sango towards the door. "I'm really tired myself. So good night."

"But…"

"Just get some rest. And we'll have fun tomorrow."

"Fine. Night." Sango knew there was no reason to argue. It was two against one. She couldn't have won.

Kagome closed the door and latched it behind her. "You are a fast thinker."

"Unlike you."

"I was giving you a compliment. You didn't have to insult me."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "So why do you care so much for this nation?"

"Why do you care?" Something had put Inuyasha in a sour mood all of a sudden. Probably because he had been too nice lately.

"I'm just a commoner, so I guess what I care doesn't matter." Kagome could like him so much for a minute and he can change into such a jerk the next minute.

"Look I didn't mean that. I didn't say anything about you being a commoner. You said that yourself."

"I like being who I am. An orphan and a commoner." With that, she went upstairs to get some rest.

&

Inuyasha woke that morning to someone shaking him. "Lemme sleep some more." He waved his arm at the person without opening his eyes to see who it was.

"And you call me a sleepy head."

He recognized the voice. "Kagome? What are you doing in here?"

"Waking you up."

"You can't just walk into a guy's room like that."

"Like you can't walk into a girl's room."

"So this is just payback?" Inuyasha was still lying in his bed with Kagome sitting at his side.

She looked does at him and gave him a big smile, "You bet it is. Oh, and guess what today is?"

Inuyasha thought about it for a moment. "What?"

"It's your last day here. Today is your seventh day. I am sure going to miss you."

"I am going to too!" And he sat up and gave her a hug- a very tight one.

"Let… go… of … me…" Kagome choked for air.

"Sorry, it's just too much emotion," he said sarcastically and wiped a fake tear from his eye.

She shook her head. "Get packed. Breakfast is downstairs." Kagome got up.

Inuyasha shook his head. "I think you should help me pack up."

"As in do it for you?"

"You know me too well."

&

The sun was high over their heads as the four set out. Each were on horseback except Kagome, who was riding on the back of Inuyasha's horse. They had gotten a late start that morning since Sango hadn't wanted to go. After an hour of persuasion she had finally agreed fully.

Sango was leading the way, with Miroku by her side. Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha had brought along their bow and arrows for hunting. Sango knew a good area for game and was taking them there.

"Stop bouncing up and down, Kagome."

"It's because of your horse. He's not steady at all."

"Don't hold on too me so tight."

"I'm going to fall off if I don't hold on. Can't you stop complaining?"

"Well you should know how to ride a horse."

"I don't even have a horse. What good would it be if I had learned?"

"Why don't I teach you?" Inuyasha steadied his horse to a stop and hopped off.

"It's truly okay. I don't have to learn." Kagome shook her head. She didn't want to learn how to ride, especially not to earn from Inuyasha.

"It'll be fine," he grinning up at her. "Just scoot up and hold onto the reins."

Kagome moved forward and took the reins, what other choice did she have? Inuyasha hopped back on the horse; this time sitting behind Kagome.

"I don't think I should…" she turned around to face him. She wore a worried expression.

"It's going to be fine. Trust me," he grabbed on to her hand and slightly kicked the horse at the side. "See it's not so bad." The horse trotted steadily, even more steadily than it had when Inuyasha was controlling it.

Kagome laughed. "I like it. It makes you feel so free and in control."

Ahead of them Sango and Miroku turned around to see what was keeping Inuyasha and Kagome.

"Oh, they look like two lovebirds…" Miroku turned towards Sango, "Would you like to ride with me Sango?"

"In your dreams."

He sighed inwardly. "Hurry up you two. We still need to find some dinner for tonight."

Kagome was now getting comfortable to the idea that she was actually riding a horse. She kicked hard in the horse's side when she heard Miroku's call.

The horse jolted forward at the pain and sent Kagome and Inuyasha forward and holding on to its reins for dear life.

"What did you do that for?" screamed Inuyasha trying to hold on to Kagome and trying to stay on the horse himself.

"AH! Make it stop!" Kagome had lost grip of the reins and the only reason she was still on the horse was Inuyasha holding on to her.

"Hold on to me!"

Inuyasha tried hard to get the horse to settle down. At the same moment that Inuyasha had finally regained control of the situation and the harness, Kagome let out an ear piercing cry. She had let go of Inuyasha for a moment and was on the verge of falling off.

The horse lifted his front legs into the air and neighed wildly. It jumped up again, shaking its head violently. Inuyasha's hand slipped from the bridles. Everything that happened after that was spontaneous. Kagome fell backwards, knocking into Inuyasha.

Her weight pushed him further and back and soon enough, they were both lying on the ground.

"Ouch!" Inuyasha exclaimed with his back on the ground and Kagome one top off him.

She turned to face him. Her nose was so close to touching his. "I'm sorry…" Kagome looked down at his chest and blushed.

Inuyasha looked up straight at her, into her beautiful eyes. Then he regained his composure. "Just get off of me already." He squirmed from beneath her.

Kagome stood up quickly and extended her hand towards him. He gripped it firmly and pulled himself up.

"Why did you kick the horse so hard?" he asked as he dusted himself off.

"I didn't think he would go that fast. You should have told me that."

"I didn't think you were that…" he looked up.

Before he could finish his sentence, Kagome had already walked away. The horse had now calmed a bit and she walked over towards it and smoothed its mane.

"I'm sorry for kicking you," she whispered to it.

Sango and Miroku had rode back after hearing Kagome's scream. "Are you two okay?" Sango asked.

"At least we didn't die." Inuyasha shot Kagome a stern look.

"Yeah, we're fine."

"Thanks to you we are. Come on. We have to get going if we want dinner." He mounted his horse again and looked down at Kagome. "Coming?"

"Does it look like I have a choice?"

"No, so hurry up."

She kicked off him off the ground and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's waist as he kicked the horse.

&

After about a half of an hour of silence, Kagome couldn't take it anymore. "So, Inuyasha…"

"Huh?"

Anything to talk about was fine right now. "Where… are you going to go after you leave here?"

"Probably some other town, meet some other people, and the cycle will start over again."

"So I'm just another person in your life that you wouldn't ever even look back on?" Kagome knew that the time they had been together was short, but she would never just forget him.

Inuyasha laughed. "No, I'll remember you as the girl that I _almost_ married." There was a pause. "What will you be doing after I leave?"

"Life will go back to normal. I cook and serve food… And maybe one day…" Kagome was cut off. Sango and Miroku had stopped ahead and gotten out their bow and arrows.

They had gotten to their hunting grounds. They were in a clearing and just ahead was a forest. Inuyasha halted his horse and got down. He opened his pack and got out his bow and arrow as well.

"Aren't you going to help me down?"

"Umm… no."

She gritted her teeth. "I'll be able to get down without you."

"I'm watching." Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest and smirked at her.

Kagome swung her legs onto one side and hopped off gingerly. She smirked right back at him. "See?"

"Hurry up! We don't want to lose you guys once we get into the forest," Miroku called.

&

After an hour of walking through the forest, Sango had killed two rabbits and Miroku a single bird. Inuyasha was still left empty handed.

"Inuyasha can't shot a bow an arrow," Kagome teased.

"You probably can't either."

"I bet I would be better than you."

"No, you probably couldn't."

"Let me try then and we'll see."

Sango and Miroku watched the pair.

"Aren't you having a fabulous time with me today?" Miroku had been trying to make conversation with Sango the entire day, but nothing worked.

"Hunting it fun. You aren't." Sango swept past him.

Kagome had now gotten the bow and arrow from Inuyasha.

"You are going to shoot someone with that." Inuyasha stepped away from her.

She turned and pointed the arrow right at him. He ducked quickly and she started to laugh.

"Look at yourself! I wasn't going to shoot you."

"How was I suppose to know that," Inuyasha said angrily and stood up.

"Shhh!" she whispered at him suddenly.

He looked at where she was pointing her arrow at. It was deer. It stood quietly near a tree, almost hidden.

"You can't hit it," Inuyasha whispered in her ear.

"Just wait," she responded.

Kagome pulled the bow up and set the arrow into place. She hand was steady; she aimed for it. She pulled the arrow as far back as she could and then… she released it.

The arrow flew swiftly and hit the animal right in its abdomen. The deer didn't have time to react before the arrow came surging towards it. At the impact, the deer feel to the ground.

Kagome smiled at her accomplishment. She had never shot an arrow in her life. Beside her, Inuyasha stared in amazement. "How could she have done that," he wondered.

"I told you I could shoot better than you."

"That was luck."

"Admit it, you can't shoot like me."

"No." He crossed his arm. He was not about to let her know that she was better than him, especially from him.

"We both know it, so stop denying it." She ran towards her prize. "Help me carry it back for dinner."

Inuyasha stooped down towards the deer. It was a full grown one. It probably weighted one hundred and fifty pounds at the least.

"Sango, Miroku, I got our dinner!" she yelled at the two. "Inuyasha and I need help to get it back."

They sprinted back towards them. "Nice catch."

Kagome beamed.

&

Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome were all sitting around a blazing fire. They had set up camp in the clearing before the forest. The deer was now roasting in the fire.

After they had finished eating, everyone was holding their stomachs. Deer meat was a delicacy. Kagome loved it and it seemed everyone enjoyed it too.

"What now?" Kagome asked after everyone was thoroughly finished with their meal. She wasn't ready to go to bed just yet.

"Sleep?" Inuyasha yawned. "I'm tired."

"Not yet, it's still way too early." Miroku's day with Sango hadn't been what he had wished for. "We should… tell stories. Anyone have a creepy tale?"

"I don't want to get nightmares tonight." Sango shook her head in disagreement.

"You wouldn't with me by your side…"

Sango slapped him upside the head. "Who says that you'll be sleeping anywhere near me?"

Kagome and Inuyasha rolled their eyes at them. "How about a little song and dance?" Miroku pulled out of flute from his pack and started to play. It was a light and cheerful tune.

Kagome swayed to the music. "Let's dance Sango!" She took Sango by the hands and pulled her up. They danced and twirled around the fire to the tune, laughing the entire time.

Inuyasha got up and sat down next to Miroku. "I'll play. You go and dance with Sango."

"You know how?" The music stopped but it didn't seem like the girls noticed.

"Just give me it. Do you want to dance with her or not?" Miroku handed Inuyasha the flute obediently. He strolled over to Sango. "May I have this dance?"

Inuyasha had started to play a different piece. Sango smiled at Miroku for the first time. She was in a good mood, a really good mood. "Of course." And she let go of Kagome's hands and took Miroku's.

Kagome walked back and sat down next to Inuyasha. He was still playing, but now it had turned into a much slower and more romantic song. Miroku and Sango were dancing closely.

"This was a good idea." Inuyasha nodded in agreement. After the song ended he took the flute from his lips.

The sat there together for awhile, then Kagome broke the silence. "Do you want to dance?"

"There won't be any music if we all dance."

"Just hum it to me." Kagome grabbed his hand before he could protest.

Inuyasha started to hum the same song had played. Kagome felt protected being around him. Hand in hand they stepped to the music. Kagome started to lean her head on his chest.

Suddenly, Inuyasha let go of her. His head turned towards the forest. He rushed to grab his sword and called for Sango and Miroku to get out theirs as well. They stopped dancing and looked over at Inuyasha confusedly, but got their swords.

He ran back to Kagome. "Don't leave my side," he warned. She knew something was terrible wrong.

Then Kagome heard a noise. A sound of hooves was coming from the forest…

A/N: Yes! Another cliffy for my readers! It makes you wonder, doesn't it? I hope you liked this chapter. A lot of stuff happened.

I can't wait to write the next chapter. Lol. I'm actually excited about it. I love writing this story though. It's my first story. Ever actually. I've written stories, but they were all for school. This is actually something I like. Okay, that was probably more information than you wanted to know. The next chapter will be coming soon. I'm going to Cali this break. So I hope everyone else has a good time this holiday season as well.

Please review! And I thank you very much for reading it.


	11. Kidnapped

A/N: It is 2006! I stayed up last night, but it is the same thing every year. The ball drops, people say 'Happy New Year' and then we go to bed. I must say that 2000's New Year was quite good.

So the sound of hooves… what or who is coming will be answered. Hope ya'll like it!

Chapter Eleven

Kidnapped

Inuyasha faced the forest. He gripped his sword with all his might; his knuckles were turning white. When he had been dancing with Kagome, he had heard a soft sound of hooves from within. Now the noise was growing louder and louder towards them.

Both Sango and Miroku were standing tentatively beside Inuyasha. Kagome, just behind Inuyasha, held on to his robe slightly.

"Sango and Miroku, be prepared to fight. I don't know what is going to happened, so be alert." They nodded in understanding.

Right then, in front of them, small balls of light appeared. Next, men on horse charged forward towards them. Each of them were on horseback, carrying a torch. Long swords hung from their sides in sheaths. More appeared from the forest in the same manner. The first few men halted as they came within a few feet away from Inuyasha.

There were about ten men that lined themselves across. Inuyasha lifted his sword up ready to strike. He scanned the men with a worried expression. If they were to fight head on, there was no doubt that they would lose.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha asked with a dangerous tone.

The man in the center responded, but not answering the question. "So we meet the great Inuyasha tonight." The men to his sides smiled.

Miroku gave Inuyasha a look. He knew what the men were talking about. Inuyasha was the prince, but how did these men know that?

Inuyasha noticed Miroku's glance, but didn't return it. "You came looking for me?" He didn't even know these men. This was the first time in his life that he had met them. He wondered what the man had meant by 'the great Inuyasha'…

"Yes we did. You are one hard person to find, Inuyasha. We have spent months looking for you and now finally… you are standing right before us- unprotected."

Kagome was growing more and more worried. She didn't know what they could possibly want of Inuyasha.

"What do you want?" he asked again, this time there was less vigor in his voice.

The man that had been doing the talking laughed. He had stern features and sat tallest amongst the men.

"You don't know already?"

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. He didn't know.

Seeing that Inuyasha was not going to respond, the man answered. "We came to get you." When these words had left his mouth, the other men jumped down from their horse and pulled out their swords.

A fight erupted. Four men encircled Inuyasha immediately. He eyed them each as he turned to face each. Then one man took a step forward to attack him. Inuyasha slit his throat instantly.

The man fell to the ground. Kagome flinched and clenched Inuyasha's robe even tighter. Seeing their fellow comrade dead, the other three men took on Inuyasha together.

On the right of Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku each had three men on them. Sango was swing fiercely in every direction. These men seemed to be attacking her in every direction. She had managed to wound only one seriously in the leg in which he was unable to stand any longer.

Miroku, on the other hand, was in better shape than Sango and Inuyasha. He had successfully killed one of the men with a stab in the stomach and wounded another terribly.

After fighting for a short while, Sango and Miroku had been pushed back to back and were surrounded with three of the remaining men. Inuyasha, during this time, had gotten himself wounded in the arm. The cut was deep and holding his sword pained him. Kagome had been trying to keep up with Inuyasha's quick movements and at the same time not get sliced herself.

The man that had been talking to them had fought with Inuyasha. Suddenly, Inuyasha noticed that he wasn't there anymore. Only two men remained fighting him. "Where could he have gone?" he thought in frustration.

Miroku, Sango and Inuyasha continued to fight their hearts out. "What do you want from us?" Miroku breathed.

The men snickered. "We don't want you, you're just in our way. And you better get out of our way before you pay the deadly price for it." There was no mercy in his eyes. Each and everyone one of them were willing to die to get whatever they came to get.

A man tried to attack Inuyasha from his back side. Kagome let out of cry. She hadn't seen him strike. There was a long cut down her back.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. He wanted to see if she was all right, but the men keep on coming.

A moment later, all of them retreated quickly back on their horse and galloped quickly away just as they had come. Inuyasha looked around him in bewilderment. Why had they all just left?

He spun around to check on Kagome… but he didn't see her.

"KAGOME!"

His scream echoed though the forest.

&

Someone and snatched Kagome up at the waist. She was caught by surprise again. A hand covered her mouth just as she was about to call out for Inuyasha. Her screams were too muffled to be heard over the hooves.

Kagome was placed on her stomach in front of the person riding. She looked back at Inuyasha, trying desperately to get his attention. He was still fighting; blood slid down his arm. She saw the men running back to their horses and taking after her rider.

"He must be one of the men," she thought," But what do they want with me? Where are they going to take me?" Kagome was scared. She shivered and pain shot through her. Her back was still bleeding.

Her captor had taken her into the forest. It was dark and she couldn't see where they were going at all. Then she heard her name being called. It was Inuyasha. He was looking for her.

Kagome bit into the person's hand. She tried to pull her self up and off of the horse. "Inu…" she started to scream out.

The man hit her on the neck before she could've gone anywhere.

She fell limply back down on the horse.

&

"Where's Kagome?" Sango demanded from Inuyasha.

His heart was racing. How could he have let them take Kagome like that? He was supposed to be protecting her, but now she was in even more danger. He still had no clue what the men wanted. They probably are using Kagome as bait to lure him to their hide out. And he could not figure out what they wanted with him. Because he was the one and only heir? How could they have known that he was here though, in the forest? But this wasn't the time to ponder over these questions. He had to find her.

"I don't know…" he didn't dare look into Sango's eyes.

"Kagome!" tears filled Sango's eyes. "She doesn't know how to fight. How is she going to survive?"

"We're going to find her." Determination blazed in his eyes. "Sango, Miroku- you two stick together. They headed into the forest. They couldn't have gone far. We can still catch up to them."

Inuyasha leap on his horse and headed for the forest with Sango and Miroku right behind him.

&

The man threw Kagome on the floor. She slid across before hitting her head on the wall and woke. Kagome rubbed her head. She had a dreadful headache and her neck was sore from where he had hit her.

There was a dim light on the other side of the room. Kagome lay on the floor in the darken corner of what seemed like a small room. Murmuring voices, hardly audible, came from the opposite side of the room.

"Master Naraku, what are we going to do with this girl?" A man was kneeling beside the man that had spoken in Inuyasha.

The master laughed. "She's going to be our key to get Inuyasha. When we do kill him, everything will be ours."

The man kneeled smiled. "You are wise, master, for doing so."

Naraku sensed motion from the corner. Kagome noticed his gaze and quickly closed her eyes pretending that she was still unconscious.

He walked over to her. Kagome's pulse rose. Naraku touched her cheek gently. She tried with all her might from not flinching. "Such a common girl… can capture the heart of Inuyasha…" he whispered in her ear, thinking that she was still unconscious.

He stood up abruptly. "Gather wood, start a fire. And then stand outside armed and prepared to fight. We will meet him again once more, but this time he won't _survive_." Naraku's eyes gleamed, even though where he stood it was completely dark.

&

Inuyasha rode deeper and deeper into the forest. He could barely make out what was ahead of him. In the beginning he had called out Kagome's name. Now he stayed silent for fear of them hearing him.

His plan was to find where Kagome was to get her to safety. There was no need for a fight. Only one of his arms held on to the reins. His other arm rested by his side, crusted with dry blood.

Up ahead, there was smoke coming out of a small cabin. Men stood around it, all armed.

"Why had they made their hideout so… open?" Inuyasha couldn't believe that they were sort of holding a large flag over their place. He slowed his horse to a slow trot.

He got down and took his sword. He hoped he would not use it any more tonight, but brought it along for protection.

Inuyasha hid behind some trees to see how he could possibly get in the cabin without being detected.

On the backside of the cabin was a tiny window. If only he could get there, however, he was facing the side of the cabin- guarded.

Inuyasha whipped his horse hard and it went charging back out of the forest. Hearing the noise, the men took after the horse, thinking Inuyasha was on it.

This was his chance. He ran up to the window and peered though. In the corner he saw Kagome… her eyes were closed. He tapped gently on the window trying to get her attention- if she was even conscious.

Kagome looked up. Her eyes met Inuyasha's. He broke open the window and heard her scream.

"NO INUYASHA!"

But it was too late.

A/N: Short chapter, I know. Deepest apologies. You should know what is coming, kind of have an idea… Naraku is in the room… (hint, hint!)


	12. Scars

A/N: Hello to all my readers! Here's the twelfth chapter. You're going to see why Kagome yelled out, "NO, INUYASHA!" Hope you like it. Read and (of course) review!

Chapter Twelve

Scars

Naraku had been waiting for Inuyasha. He had been waiting for this day all his life. The king, Inuyasha's father, had overthrown his father and executed most of his family- all of his family actually. Naraku was the only one left.

This had happened when Naraku was but a child. He was raised up by one of his father's most loyal warriors. It was that warrior that told Naraku of what had happened to his family and that he must seek revenge for his family, his ancestors.

It had taken Naraku many years of hard training to learn how to fight, and well. His forces were small and few. He didn't have much money to support them and he couldn't afford to attack the forbidden palace. He waited and waited for the right moment. And now it had come.

Killing Inuyasha was only the first part of his plan. Inuyasha was the only direct heir to throne. Inuyasha's death would bring uncertainty to the government. He would take this to his advantage and gather up more forces to overthrow the government and make himself king- what he should have been all along.

He had heard rumors that the prince was going to go and make a journey in China and see it for the first time. The rumors led him on a long trail from city to city.

Naraku had but a single picture of Inuyasha. It was smuggled to him from inside the palace and it was his only hope in finding the right person.

Just this morning he had stopped by Kagome's restaurant before heading on to the next city in search of Inuyasha. Two old women entered and sat to the table next to his. An old lady had come out to serve them. The two women both stood and congratulated her.

"_Kaede! We're so happy for you. Kagome has found such a fine husband!"_

"_Thank you. She just grew up so fast. I don't want to let her go."_

"_Oh, but she'll visit. He fought so well. So brave of him."_

"_Yes. Inuyasha will make a fine husband for her."_

Naraku couldn't believe his ears. Inuyasha? Could these old ladies be taking about the Inuyasha? The prince of China? He had to find out.

"_Um, excuse me."_

_The women turned to face him. "Yes, is there anything else I can get your sir?_

"_No, I'm sorry for eavesdropping. But I just overheard that you know Inuyasha?"_

"_Yes. My soon to be son-in-law."_

"_I'm a close friend of his…" Naraku couldn't believe he was so close to finding him, "and we have lost contact over the years. I was wondering if I could see him. Is he around here?" He pulled out his picture to make sure that they were talking about the same person._

"_Oh, I'm so sorry. He just left this morning. You came too late, but he is returning tomorrow if you are willing to wait."_

"_No, I must be off tonight. Where did he go?"_

"_Not too far from here, just in those forests, heading north of here. Shouldn't be more than ten miles off."_

"_Thank you."_

With that Naraku was off on his way to the forest, hot on Inuyasha's tail.

&

"NO INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed again.

Inuyasha looked around in utter confusion. He pulled himself through the window even with Kagome's objection. He had to save her.

In the shadows, something moved. A figure came out into the light.

"You should have listened to the girl, Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha…" Tears were falling from Kagome's face. She didn't want to put him in this position. Men surrounded this small cabin. He didn't even have a chance to win…

"Who are you?" Inuyasha's voice was firm and steady.

"That's right. I haven't formally introduced you to myself. I'm Naraku… Naraku Temur." He let his name sink in.

Inuyasha knew this last name. It was of the last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty… But everyone had been executed after their fall. Why was he still alive?

"You're making that up."

"Does it look like I'm joking to you?" Naraku's look was grim… evil.

Kagome, sitting on the ground now, could not understand what was so significant about Naraku's name? Inuyasha looked almost bewildered when he heard it.

"What do you want with me?"

"You should know what I want… your position that you don't even deserve." Naraku pulled out his sword by his side and took a strike at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha, however, reacted quickly enough and dodged the blow. "MEN!" Naraku called, but none came for they were all chasing after Inuyasha's horse.

Inuyasha defended himself and took a strike at Naraku. Their swords met and each pushed with all their might. "You're afraid of fighting me one on one, eh?"

Inuyasha sneered. Naraku still held his composure. "You only wish; I can defeat you myself."

"You're dreaming," and with that he pulled his sword away and Naraku lunged forward. He quickly took his sword and held it to Naraku's throat.

Naraku stood up straight and faced him in the eye. "You don't want to kill me," he said confidently.

Inuyasha's sword dug deeper into his throat and blood started to drip down his neck. "Why wouldn't I kill you?" his voice sounded emotionless.

He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out of vile before Inuyasha could stop him. "Kagome is poisoned and this is the only antidote."

Inuyasha turned to look at Kagome. "NO! He's lying. I'm not poi…"

Before she got the chance to finish, Naraku had moved away from Inuyasha and knocked Inuyasha's sword out his hand and had his own sword at Inuyasha's throat.

"Now, should I kill you…" his eyes showed no mercy and Inuyasha showed no sorrow. He stood firmly and definitely. "My father was the king. He ruled over his people bravely. The king now is nothing compared to him. And you are nothing compared to me…" Naraku noticed nothing else but Inuyasha and telling his tale.

Kagome slowly crawled over to the other end of the room. Her finger grasped around the tightly strung bow. She placed the arrow into place. Kagome pulled the string as far back and tried to hold her hand steady.

The arrow was released and hit Naraku squarely in the back. He fell to the floor along with the bow at the same time.

"Kagome, thank goodness." Inuyasha stepped over Naraku's body.

"I'm… going to kill… you," Naraku breathed, his head fell back onto the ground. Blood was pouring out of his wound.

Inuyasha pulled Kagome up from the ground. "Hurry, his men are going to coming soon and he's not dead yet…"

She stood in Inuyasha's arms still shaken at what had just happened. "Is he dead?"

"I hope so, but I doubt it. Hurry Kagome." He pushed to the door. Seeing that she wouldn't move he said, "Okay, get on my back."

Kagome still stood motionless and Inuyasha threw her on his back and ran out of the room.

&

He ran for awhile until he got too tired and placed Kagome down. They were in a thick, dense part of the forest. The moon was out; it must have been two or three in the morning now.

"Are you okay, Kagome?"

"Yeah…"

"What about your wound on your back. Let me see it."

She turned with her back facing him. He touched it slightly and she winced. "I'm sorry. I'll bandage it up for you, but you have to take off you shirt. Okay? I promise I won't do anything," he added.

"I know you wouldn't," she sounded tired and slipped off her shirt. Inuyasha took of his outer robe and started to warp it around her wound.

"So what did Naraku want from you? Why did he want to kill you?"

"I don't know…"

"You do. When you heard his name, something happened to you. You like couldn't believe it…"

"His last name… he was the descendant of our last emperor, our last dynasty."

"So…"

"That couldn't be true because they were all killed when the next dynasty took control."

"What does that have anything to do with you?"

"It's… complicated."

"Try me."

"My dad it related to the king… If anything was to happen to the prince, I guess I would be second or third in line for the throne." He knew this wasn't the case. He was going to be king and no one was going to kill him before that.

She laughed. "You? Rule China?"

"Yeah, me rule China. I'll be the best king there ever was," tied a knot in the back, "There. It's all done. Does it feel a little better? At least now it won't get any more infected."

"Yeah, thanks."

Inuyasha grabbed her shirt and started to pull it over her head. But he noticed something. "What's that one your arm." He fingered her bite marks. "Is this from tonight?"

"No, it isn't." She took her shirt from him and put it on herself and then turned to face him. "I've always wondered myself. I have asked Kaede before, but she has never seemed happy to tell me. There is even another set of marks on my other arm." She pulled up her sleeve to show him.

"That's odd… you said you were an orphan right?"

"Yeah…"

"Maybe it's from your parents… to identify you."

"But Kaede knew my parents. She's my aunt. I think she would have told me… but it seems to be a darker secret. I've always wanted to know how my parents were like. Kaede doesn't elaborate much on the subject, so I stopped bugging her about it."

"I would hate it to not know who my parents were." It reminded him of his caring mother and how much she loved him…

"I will never know who my parents were… how they looked… what they were like… and how life would be different if I was with them…"

"We probably wouldn't have met."

"That would be a shame," she smiled at him.

"I'm sorry for what I got you into tonight. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been in that much danger. Naraku was out to get me, not you."

"It's not your fault," she leaned her head on his shoulder, yawning she added, "Things happen for a reason."

"I guess so. I'm glad you're safe now."

"Did I have you worried?"

"…Yeah…"

"Thanks for being… there for me."

They were silent for awhile. "Kagome?" Inuyasha said quietly.

"Huh?"

"You should get some rest now."

"On your shoulder?"

"That's fine."

And Kagome slept. Inuyasha felt the warmth of Kagome on his body. He smiled at her even though she was asleep and closed his eyes, falling asleep as well…

A/N: They're civil and they care for one another's livelihood. It's a start, but something bad is going to happen. Next couple chapters will give you the reason.

Stay tuned and review. Thanks!


	13. The Golden Scroll

A/N: Wow, I can't believe how far I'm into the story already. It was just like yesterday that I started it. Lol. But it's far from the end. It's not even half way done yet. Yikes!

Chapter Thirteen

The Golden Scroll

The birds chirped above them and Kagome yawned. Her neck hurt from the odd way it had rested on Inuyasha's shoulder all night. Inuyasha was still asleep as she stretched out her arms. Noticing the missing weight on his shoulder, he awoke abruptly. "Kagome!"

"I'm right here, safe and sound." She laughed at his outburst.

"That's good to know," he said sarcastically, even though he had just screamed out her name thinking she was gone again, "What time is it?"

"About seven or so I'll have to guess. Should we find Sango and Miroku now?"

"Yeah, but I really don't know where they are. We split up to look for you last night."

"I love it when you get worried about me!"

"Don't count on it again."

"Aw, not going to save me from the clutches of danger anymore?"

"No. Last night, Naraku wanted me not you. I didn't want you dead because of me. I do have a conscience."

"Alright, let's go out to where we were supposed to camp at maybe they'll be there. I don't want them worried." Kagome didn't understand her feelings now. She had hated Inuyasha. Despised him to death, until last night. He had come to rescue her, risking his own life. Had it been love? Or just like an older brother? Or a friend? Or just because of the reason he had just given her.

"Can you walk?"

"I was in shock last night!"

"So you can walk."

"Yes, and I don't need you."

They made their way through the forest. The place in which they slept at was actually very close to the clearing.

"I see them," Kagome pointed. On the far side of the clearing, there were two horses.

"It's a good thing they didn't come looking for us as well," Inuyasha remarked.

Sango saw them first. She jumped up in joy seeing that Kagome was still alive and pulled Miroku up from the ground, still sleeping apparently. Sango and Kagome embraced.

"Thank goodness you're alive Kagome. We couldn't find you, but we did run into those men again. We killed them all off but one this time." She hugged Kagome tighter afraid that when she let go that Kagome would be taken away again.

"You can let me go now, Sango. You're hurting me," she said, indicting her wound.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"What did you say about those men Sango," Inuyasha questioned.

"We killed them all, but one. What about it?"

"I was just thinking about…" he paused, searching for the right words, instead he said, "never mind."

"What is it?" Kagome placed her hand on his arm; her tone was soft and caring.

"I just want to go back, to the cabin. And finish Naraku off."

"What! Don't do that. You don't know…"

Inuyasha interrupted her, "Sango and Miroku just said that the killed all the men except one and Naraku is injured. There wouldn't be a risk in killing him today. There would be a greater risk for me to keep him alive."

Kagome knew what Inuyasha said made sense. Naraku, when healed, would come back for Inuyasha and try to kill him again.

Inuyasha stood there, in front of her. He looked determined and fearless. He was going to go back there no matter what anyone would say.

"But what if he has more men? What if…"

"Kagome, stop worrying about the 'what if's.' You know just as well as I do that I have to go back. And I don't need your consent to go." His voice was firm.

"Then I'll go with you."

Sango intervened, "You're hurt, Kagome. You can't just go walking around in those woods and go after a killer. Maybe I can take you back into town and Miroku can go along with Inuyasha."

"That's fine with me," Miroku said, grabbing his sword.

"No, I don't want anyone of you to go along with me. This is solely my problem and I'm going to deal with it. I don't want anyone of you getting hurt because of me. Understand?"

"But…"

"You stay out of this. Do you want something like last night to happen again?"

She shook her head. She didn't want Inuyasha to go back. Something deep inside her told her to go along with him. But she couldn't. Sango and Miroku and gotten on their horses, agreeing with Inuyasha's decision.

Inuyasha walked away from them. The sun had fully risen now. The leaves of the forest were lush and green. It looked like such a peaceful place, but so much evil lurked in it.

Sango motioned for Kagome to get on her horse, but instead of taking Sango's outreached hand, Kagome ran after Inuyasha.

"Kagome! Where are you going?"

Kagome didn't take the time to look back, she just ran after him. She caught up and grabbed his sleeve. "I'm going with you," she panted.

He stopped walking. "Why?"

"Because…"

"You don't even have a reason for following me, so why do it. Go back into town and get your wound treated."

"What about your wound?"

"I'm a guy. I can handle it. You, on the other hand-"

She couldn't believe he had just made such a sexist comment. 'He was a guy so he can take it.'

"I can take anything you can. Remember the first night that you came to my place and you asked me for sheets. I mean, who asks for sheets? And drawers? You are the rich son of some rich father that has everything you could ever dream of."

She had him. He knew it. He had been raised as a prince after all. After that day, he hadn't complained about anything else. He had kept all those complaints to himself. The dishes being a little dirty, the tub too small for bathes, and not having a pillow. He hadn't said a word about all these things.

Kagome had lived a rougher life than him. She was stronger in a sense too. "Fine. Do what you want. But don't come to me crying when something bad happens."

&

A wounded man ran back to his hideout, deep inside the forest. He was limping badly. A woman had stabbed him there. He would have died if he hadn't made a run for it.

The moonlight was his only source of light. He didn't know if they were going to come after him. Tonight, Naraku had promised them wealth, power, and revenge but that didn't seem true. All of Naraku's men, his comrades, had been killed tonight. Inuyasha was powerful and had very skilled fighters by his side.

His clothes were in tatters and blood covered him. He couldn't keep running like this. He wanted to fall over, but he couldn't stop now. He had to get back. Back to some safety.

Finally, the cabin was in view. The door hung open. He limped into the room and saw his master… on the floor. Naraku had an arrow sticking out from his back.

"Master Naraku…"

"Shashou…"

"What happened?"

"Inuyasha and the girl…got away." Naraku was very pale and it seemed to pain him to talk. His hands were as cold as ice.

"Let me treat your wound, master."

"Where are… the others?" Naraku had his eyes closed now; he was only moments away from fainting.

"They all died. They died fighting for you."

"Don't take the arrow out. It's the only thing… keeping me alive now. We have to leave, tonight…" His head rested on the ground and he said no more.

"Master Naraku! Master Naraku!" Shashou called to him. He didn't dare shake the body.

There was no response.

&

Inuyasha took out his sword. It was still stained with blood from the men last night. They came up to the cabin. It looked less threatening in the daylight.

"Stay here," he said pointing to a tree a distance away from the cabin.

"You can't tell me to do anything. I came this far. I might as well go with you in there. Maybe I'll come in handy."

"Like being kept captive again."

"I shot Naraku last night for you, if you have already forgotten."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "Fine, let her go. If she dies, it's not my problem," he thought.

Inuyasha pushed the door open with his sword. There was not a soul insight.

"Where could he have gone," Kagome questioned.

"That man that Sango and Miroku let get away. He must have gone back and taken Naraku somewhere…"

"Then Naraku, when recovered, will even be more threatening to you. He will want to kill you even more."

He smiled and tried to take everything more lightly. "Everything is going to be okay. I'll be ready for him. Don't worry about the Great Inuyasha."

"The Great Inuyasha…" He had made her laugh.

&

Night fell had fallen by the time that Inuyasha and Kagome had gotten back to the restaurant. Kaede was standing outside, waiting for them ever since noon.

"Kagome! What happened? Sango and Miroku came by and told me that you two would be staying there a little longer, but… it looks like you got hurt," Kaede spun Kagome around, looking at her back. "How could you let this happen to her? Tell me exactly what happened."

"We were just climbing, Aunt Kaede. I slipped and fell. It was a good thing Inuyasha was there to catch me in time. That's all."

"Well, let's get you both inside and bandaged. How did Inuyasha get cut? It looks like a sword…"

"Miroku and I were sword fighting. He cut me by accident. Myoga can bandage it for me. I have to leave here tomorrow."

"But, Inuyasha… "

"I told you I would be here a week. It's been more than that now. There's some other cities I still have to see before returning home."

Inuyasha thought departing would be easier then this. And he was actually leaving until tomorrow morning. He had told Kagome and she had even wanted him gone before their trip… their trip to the forest.

"Right. That's right," Kagome didn't know why she had made it sound like she didn't want him to leave. What was she thinking?

"So, I'll be down for dinner. My last meal here."

"Your last meal? What are you talking about Inuyasha? You're going to come back here after all and have a wedding with Kagome, aren't you?" Kaede looked confused.

"Um, yes. I meant my last meal here till I returned back. It'll probably be a half of year, but I wouldn't leave Kagome."

"I'll tell the kitchens to make you something nice," Kagome broke the awkward conversation. Kaede nodded in agreement and thought nothing more of it. Kagome knew otherwise.

&

Kagome laid stomach first on her bed. Kaede had put some medicine on and bandaged it. She sighed to herself. Inuyasha was going to be leaving. At long last, he would be gone. They would never have to live with each other ever again. Never see each other anymore for as long as they lived.

But something deep down, hurt. She couldn't place why… but her heart yearned for him a little and would be missing him.

No, she shook her head. That's not how she felt. Her heart was playing tricks on her. "Stop thinking too much. He's leaving. That's it. No big deal," she told herself and got up to have dinner.

&

"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Myoga shouted when Inuyasha stepped into the room and hugged him. "I was so worried about you. You said that you–"

"It's Inuyasha! You keep saying that and you are seriously going to bring back a dead body back to my parents."

"No. No, Inuyasha. Don't ever say that. You are not going to die. Not when I'm with you."

"And I see that you have been protecting me so much?"

"Of course. You just don't let me go with you."

"You would have run away anyway."

"You never know… I wasn't there…"

"Fine. Just bandage this up and pack all our clothes. We'll be leaving tomorrow. Got it?"

"Yes, your high… I mean Inuyasha."

"You are such a-"

"Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha! I can remember it."

&

Kagome had asked the kitchen to prepare them a feast that night. It was a feast for a king. There were plates after plates of food, chicken, duck, fish, vegetables, delicious, unburnt fired rice, and so much more.

Inuyasha's eye widen at the sight. "This is for… me?" he just couldn't believe it.

"It is your last meal and I wanted to make your stay a… good one."

"Should have done that on the first day, but thanks for this." He immediately sat down and shoved food into his mouth. They hadn't eaten anything since dinner the previous night.

"This… is …great," he mumbled, his mouth too full to talk without spiting out food.

"Slow down. It's like I starved you or something."

"You… did."

Their dinner was quick. Inuyasha ate everything placed out and Kagome made him go to bed early so he would be well rested for tomorrow.

They were in front of Inuyasha's room. "Good night Kagome. I hope that your future brings you the best of things and a good husband to form a family."

"It's like what you would say to someone that you are never going to see again."

"We probably won't."

"Then I bid you good night. And I want to wish you that you become a great nobleman, loved by all his people, or even the king of China, respected by all."

Inuyasha said no more and walked into his room closing the door behind him. All Kagome saw was his back…

&

The sun had not even risen yet when Inuyasha and Myoga walked down the stairs and to leave.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Kagome?" Myoga whispered when they got down the stairs.

"It's better this way. We had said our farewells last night anyways."

The opened the door and closed it silently. He looked up at Kagome's window. He could see anything thought. The curtains were down. "Goodbye," he said quietly and got on the carriage.

&

_Knock, knock!_

"Inuyasha wake up!" There was not a single sound coming from the room. "Inuyasha!" She opened the door.

He was gone.

"Inuyasha… He left without telling me goodbye. Just left. Like the wind."

On his bed there was a letter. Kagome grabbed it and opened it. "He knows I can't read."

There was nothing left in the room. Inuyasha was gone and tears dropped from her eyes.

&

Inuyasha sat in the back of the carriage. He yawned trying to go to sleep, but couldn't stop his random thoughts from bothering him. He pulled out a letter. He had written this one first and decided to not give it to her. He unfolded and reread it:

_Dear Kagome,_

_I apologize for not waking you and giving any farewells. Leaving like this was not right of me, but I didn't want to make my departure hard on you. Maybe it would be a cleaner break this way. Please don't think of me and I will just keep you in my memories. Best wishes for you future._

_Inuyasha_

He had not given this to her because it sounded all too romantic. They weren't even in love. He knew that she wasn't able to read it, but she would ask someone to read it for her.

Inuyasha sighed to himself and crumpled the piece of parchment and threw it out the small window.

They rode for awhile longer until Myoga halted the carriage to a stop and leaned his head into the carriage. "We're going to be heading south to the next town. We'll rest there, is that okay with you?" he asked.

"That's fine."

Before they got a chance to go anywhere further they were stopped by an approaching group of men.

"What now!" Inuyasha couldn't hold his temper. He had had enough. Men were coming to attack him at every turn.

"Your highness, Inuyasha," one of the men called. Inuyasha stepped out of the carriage. The man's voice was familiar.

He looked out and knew right away. It was one of his father's most loyal officials, Suga.

"What's going on?" he asked as Suga dismounted.

He pulled out of golden scroll and Inuyasha immediately got down on his knees.

Suga read, "Inuyasha, prince of China, the king has commanded for you to…"

A/N: So the golden scroll is like words of law from the king. To show respect to the king (the scroll represents the king's words) Inuyasha was bowing to it. But what is the king commanding Inuyasha to do? You'll find out soon enough.

Okay, the new character Suga… who exactly is he (in the _Inuyasha _comics)? I saw his name in Inuyasha Movie 3. Apparently he was the one that got a hold of the third sword. So I don't know if I have the right name that I want… So help me and tell me who he is.

Thinking about submitting a review or not? Click the button already!


	14. The Emperor of China

A/N: Happy New Years everyone! Yeah, so I think I goofed up on the character name, Suga. Sorry. I will fix it as soon as I do find a name suitable for that character.

The title of this chapter kind of gives away the whole chapter, but I hope you like it.

Chapter Fourteen

The Emperor of China

"…come back to the palace immediately." Suga read and rolled up the scroll.

Inuyasha took the scroll and stood up, thanking him. "Why does he want me to come back?"

"The king has fallen seriously ill. The doctors all think that he doesn't have much longer to live… The king wants you to return to tell you any last information before he dies and hands over the crown to you."

Inuyasha was numb. His father was dieing. "I have to get back right away," he said staring straight ahead.

"We brought an extra horse with us; we should get back tomorrow morning if we ride all through the night."

He got on the horse without saying another word. He had to get back to his father before it was too late. He was going to become king. Did he have enough power to rule all of China? Would he be respected by the people? All he knew was that he had to ride as fast as he can.

&

Kagome ran to Sango's house. Sango's home was gated and it was one of the nicest homes in the town. There were three floors and a huge garden surrounding the entire area. The guard knew her and let her in without any questioning.

Kagome walked briskly though the front foyer and up to Sango's room. "Sango?" She knocked before entering.

"Come in," her voice sounded tired.

Kagome walked in, finding Sango still in bed. "I'm sorry to bug you this early…"

Noticing it was Kagome, Sango sat up. "It's okay. Anything important?"

"Yeah," she paused and then added, "Inuyasha left."

"But you knew he would. You even wanted him too, right?" Sango didn't understand what was wrong about Inuyasha leaving.

"I did. But this morning he left without saying goodbye. Not even a goodbye, Sango…"

"I'm sorry, Kagome." She hugged her friend. Kagome broke away and pulled out the letter.

"Can you read this to me? He knows I can't read, but wrote me a letter anyways."

"Of course." She unfolded the letter and read:

_Kagome,_

_You must be mad at me for not waiting and not have saying goodbye, but I think that this was a better way for it to end. I didn't want the tears or the sadness you would have given me. Try to find a good husband one of these days before you grow old. Tell everyone when my exams results get back that I will not be marring you. I will always remember you, don't worry._

_Inuyasha_

Sango looked up at her friend. Kagome was standing motionless. Her face was sad. "Was those his last words to her?" He sounded like the Inuyasha she knew: careless. Not a word of apology, not of word that he would miss her. He would just remember her and that was it.

"Kagome?" Sango was getting concerned.

"Huh?" she said jerking her head up and forcing on a smile.

"Is everything…alright?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? I just wanted to know what it said. That's all. And now that I do know, I'm going to go back home and you can go back to sleep and everything will just be the same… Same as it used to be." Kagome spoke fast and headed out the door before Sango could ask her anything else.

Things would be the same now. Same as it used to be before he came. Kagome would force it to be the same. She got back to the restaurant and put on her apron.

"Where's Inuyasha?" Kaede asked right away.

"And I was just trying to forget him!" Kagome fumed and answered, "He left this morning like he said."

"Did you two say goodbye? He must have left awfully early. I didn't hear him leave…"

"Yeah… He woke me before he left." She hated doing this to her own aunt. Lying has what she has been only doing since Inuyasha came. All those secrets they shared.

&

The sun was rising on Inuyasha as the Forbidden Palace came into view. He had ridden throughout the night while Suga, his men, and Myoga had rested. The Forbidden Palace was a majestic site. Facing him was the main building. It was there that the kings held his meetings with his officials and nobles. Behind that building were dozens among dozens of red rooftops. Intruders needed maps to get around or else it would take them forever to find what they came for.

Guards heavily guarded the gates into the palace. Inuyasha held up his gold seal. It inscribed his name and acted as a key to the palace. The guards recognized the seal immediately and got to their knees. "Prince Inuyasha."

The gates were opened at once and Inuyasha charged through them.

He rode until he got just outside of the king's place. He dismounted quickly and sprinted up the steps. One of the maids at the entrance saw him. "Prince Inuyasha," she bowed her head as she got down on her knees.

"Prince Inuyasha is here," she called out for everyone else to hear. Servants lined on each side of Inuyasha all got down to their knees. Inuyasha ignored this attention and walked on towards the king's bed.

The king was pale. He wore a beautifully woven golden robe. Inuyasha's father once looked magnificent and feared, now looked tired and faded away. "Father…" Inuyasha bowed his head.

"Inuyasha, come here," the king patted the side of his bed. Inuyasha sat down slowly, looking worried at his father's health condition. "The doctor has said that by days here are numbered."

"No, everything is going to be okay." He couldn't accept what was happening. He held his father's hand. "You were fine before I left."

The king coughed before being able to speak. "I know, I know. I didn't see this coming either. It was just a cold to begin with, so I didn't think much of it. A couple days later I had a high fever and the fever never broke."

Inuyasha placed his hand on his father's forehead. Sure enough, it was burning hot. "Isn't there any medicine… treatment?"

"Let's not talk about this, Inuyasha. I didn't call you here for that reason," the king's voice was getting raspy and fainter. "I called you back to give my last advice for you to be…emperor."

&

Inuyasha was in a daze when he walked out into the open. His father had told him about all the secrets in running an efficient government, who to trust and who were not loyal, numerous war tactics, and so many other things that Inuyasha himself didn't know if he could remember it all.

Was he ready to be king? Would the people trust him? Would his officials take heed in his actions and commands? Before he could ponder the issue further, his mother, the queen, came into view.

She embraced him. "Inuyasha. I heard that you had returned." Tears were streaming down her face. "I can't believe what is happening. Your father, just like that, is on his deathbed."

The queen was still in shock over the whole matter. Suddenly there was a scream from with the king's quarters.

Inuyasha rushed back inside with the queen right behind him. A doctor was down on his knees begging for mercy. Inuyasha grabbed the doctor up by his robe. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"I'm…I'm…" the doctor trembled with fear.

The king held his hand up. "It… it wasn't his fault." He was straining every time he spoke. It took all his energy.

The queen was now crying even harder. "No…no…"

"Inuyasha, I place this nation into your hands. Rule with what you believe in and with your…heart." The king's hand slipped away from the queen's grip.

"FATHER!" Inuyasha cried out, but his father never would open his eyes again.

&

The king had not died immediately, but rather fallen asleep due to fatigue and then passed away peacefully in his sleep. His funeral was held the following day.

Inuyasha was dressed in white and stood in the front of the crowd at the biggest Buddhist temple. The king's wives, children, officials, and nobles were all there. The monk hit a gong and they all bowed their heads.

"The king has died just last night…" Inuyasha didn't hear what the monk had to say after that. His father was gone and all he could do was stare at his father in the coffin. It would be the last time Inuyasha would be able to see his father

&

The officials of Kagome's city paraded through and called for everyone to come outside to the town square. He held up a golden scroll and announced the king's death. People knew immediately to get to their knees and mourn for their lost emperor.

Kagome couldn't believe the emperor's sudden death. "Was it Naraku's doing?" she wondered, "And who was going to be their next emperor..."

There were whispers all around her about this: the new emperor and what had caused the king's sudden death? The official dismissed the people soon afterwards and everyone returned home.

Sango emerged from the crowd. "Kagome!" she called to get Kagome's attention.

"Sango, Miroku. Hi."

"I wonder who the new emperor is." Sango looked over at Miroku to see if he knew. He looked uneasy and shrugged. "Well, it's not like it's really going to affect us in any way."

"That's true." Kagome responded. She had never cared too much about their government.

Sango, remembering something, asked, "Are you busy tonight? My parents are invited some guests and there's going to great food. I just need a friend to share it with."

"I'm available," Miroku volunteered.

"Not you, Miroku. I was talking to Kagome." She looked at him in irritation.

Kagome smiled. "Of course."

"Terrific."

"You don't have to always be so mean to him, you know," Kagome whispered to her friend.

"But he deserves it."

&

The ceremony ended and the coffin was carried away. The king was going to be buried on the side of a holy mountain and no one was allowed to witness the rite except the monk and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha had not cried. His heart was crying on the inside. His father had loved him the most out of all his children. He was always there for him. He was someone that Inuyasha had looked up to and longed to be like and now he was gone. Forever gone.

Inuyasha saw his mother sitting on the floor, still sobbing. He placed his hand on her back. "It's okay. Don't cry. There's no point in grieving."

"I… know…" she responded in between sobs. She wiped her tears on her robe. "You better get going now. Get dressed. Your ceremony will be tonight."

"Tonight?"

She nodded her head.

"But…"

"Just go…" she was already crying again, "Leave me here."

_Tonight?_ Inuyasha could not believe how fast things could change.

&

A golden robe hung loosely on Inuyasha. A maid placed a crown on his head. The crown was heavy and inlayed with dozens of jewels. He looked at himself in the mirror. Inuyasha looked majestic, but also young and inexperienced. He stared back at his reflection with confidence. Deep down, he knew he would be able to rule effectively and efficiently. He would do this to make his father proud-rule with his heart.

And then he thought of Kagome.

"Myoga, I would like you to…"

"Your highness?" He asked seeing that Inuyasha had stopped mid sentence.

"Nothing." He was about to ask Myoga to go back to Kagome's town, just to see how she was or even invite her to the palace. But he knew he couldn't… After all, Kagome was just a commoner.

&

Inuyasha was escorted to the main building- the one where the king had had his meetings.

Inuyasha paced around the room. He didn't know what to except tonight. Then there were the soundings of horns.

A load voice came from outside. "Welcome the new emperor of China!" Inuyasha was pushed out towards the balcony by one of the officials.

Before him were more than a thousand people lined up orderly and on their knees. "The emperor of China," they all said in unison and bowed their heads down to him.

Inuyasha looked out at them. His people. His nation.

A/N: Inuyasha is now crowned king. I had to make it happen fast enough that it wasn't dragging, but slow enough that the king had time to see Inuyasha one last time.

Next chapter is going to get exciting!


	15. The Truth Must Come Out

A/N: Thanks everyone for reviewing last chapter. I really appreciate it. And thanks, Karen, for using my story as your book report! Feeling like a true writer

I'm having a really hard time with character names because in my story people have mothers and fathers and in the anime, people don't. So I think I'm just going to have to make up names, I guess. I really don't know. Hope it turns out okay.

Chapter Fifteen

The Truth Must Come Out

Kagome had stuffed herself full. Sango was right; the food was absolutely delicious. "That was the best meal ever."

"Yeah, I can't eat another bite." Sango had never seen Kagome eat so much before. "I'm glad you liked the food."

Kagome smiled. The food was good. She probably won't have eaten this much on any other day, but today, she was trying to forget about Inuyasha and it was harder than she expected. Her mind would always wonder off and think about him. How she and him were in the woods together that one night. Just the two of them…

"It's getting awfully late. Do you want to head back or just spend the night here?" her friend asked.

"Can I stay here for the night? There are a couple of things I want to talk to you about."

"Of course, Kagome." Sango looked worriedly at Kagome. They headed up the stairs silently and sat down on Sango's bed.

She took a deep breath and sighed. "I just can't help… but think about Inuyasha. He's been in my mind ever since he left. When he was here, I had wanted him gone. I thought of him as an annoyance. But now," she paused, "…I feel like a part of me is missing, because he's not here by my side. Whenever he's around me, I feel protected… and cared for. And now that feeling has gone."

Sango could not believe what she was hearing. Kagome was the one to tell her how much she hated and despised Inuyasha, and now she was telling how much she missed him.

"Do you love him?" Sango asked carefully.

"I don't know… I don't know, Sango." Kagome hid her face in her hands. "I don't know if I do. We had known each other for just a short week, but it seems to be so much more."

Sango hugged Kagome, trying to comfort her. Kagome dug her face into Sango's shoulder and tears came. She had been holding in these tears ever since Inuyasha left and now that she let them go, relief came to her.

"I just," Kagome said through her sobs, "I just… want him back."

"But you know," Sango didn't want to sound harsh, "Inuyasha left. You have no idea where he is now."

Kagome took the back of her hand to wipe away the tears. "I know that. But it's my heart. I want him back. He made me feel warm… and I think that I do …_love_ him. I didn't know that I felt this way, until it was all too late." Kagome had said it. She loved him. Even though she didn't want to believe it… her heart told her that it was the truth.

There was silence between them. "Don't worry about me, Sango. I just needed to tell someone all my feelings. And now that I have, I feel better now," Kagome smiled encouragingly, "I'm going to be alright. I'll learn to forget about him." She laid down on the bed, ready for some sleep.

Sango didn't believe Kagome. "Do you want me to see…"

"No, you can't help me in this situation. I'm going to deal with my feelings myself."

"Kagome…" She wanted to help Kagome out, but she didn't know how she possibly could.

"What is there to do? He's gone to some other city, probably having a great time, not even thinking about me. Let's just get some rest and tomorrow I can wake up to a beautiful sunrise and forget about everything that happened last week." She laid down and closed her eyes, not wanting Sango to pursue the issue any further. She wasn't even sure about her feelings right now. Just as long as she didn't fall deeper into this feeling of love for him, she could still try to undo it.

"You can't forget." Her voice was soft, trying to talk some sense into her friend.

"So how are things going with you and Miroku? Getting any closer?" Kagome sat up, knowing that she would not be left alone.

"Don't try to change the subject."

"Oh, come on. Tell me," her eyes widened when she saw Sango blush, "So there _is_ something going on with you two?"

Sango shook her head. "Of course not!" she defended.

"Oh yes, there is."

"I think it's time that we go to bed now. It's almost midnight."

"I'm not sleepy." Kagome wanted to know what was going on between Sango and Miroku.

This time, Sango laid down and closed her eyes. "Night, Kagome."

"Fine. But in the morning, I'm going to get it out of you."

Kagome slept next to her friend and smiled at her before going to sleep. "I'm glad that you can find love. Love that won't leave."

&

In the middle of the night, men sneaked into the back of Sango's mansion. They opened their empty storage and started to carry in many bags. The bags were heavy and the men were exhausted after they complete their task. The storage was full of the very top when they locked it.

&

At the crack of dawn, Inuyasha had already dressed in his white robes that he wore to his father's funeral the previous day. The monk was outside waiting for him.

"I'm ever so sorry for your loss." The monk bowed his head to the new emperor.

"It was just so… abrupt. There are still some things that I want to tell him and ask him. But I can't."

The monk didn't reply. He just walked straight ahead, saying some prayers to himself.

They climbed into the carriage. The coffin was in the back. The ride would take all morning, until they reached their destination. Inuyasha glanced back at the coffin. "I won't let you down," he said to his father.

&

Kagome had woken up in the middle of the night to some rustling outside Sango's bedroom. She had woken Sango up, but Sango was determined that it wasn't anything but the wind and fell back to sleep. Kagome didn't think much about of it after that, and went back to sleep.

In the morning, she rose to a beautiful sunrise, just as she wanted. "Everything is going to be okay," she said and smiled to herself.

She walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains to let in the sunlight. Kagome looked out at the perfect clear skies. Then her attention turned downwards. People crowded around near the corner of the yard. Their voices were harsh and sharp. Sango's father looked very bewildered and angry.

Kagome started to worry. "What was going on?" she thought.

"Sango," she walked over and woke her friend, "There's something wrong. I don't know what, but I think you should go down there."

Sango rolled over and opened her eyes. "What?" she mumbled.

"Out in the backyard. Your father doesn't seem too happy. I think something happened."

Sango jerked up. Her father was not a morning person and he hardly went out into their backyard. "My father? What is he doing in the backyard?"

"I don't know." Kagome pulled at Sango's arm to drag her down the stairs to find out some answers.

"My father never goes out in the backyard. He's always busy and thinks that the lawn is for the servants to care for and the kids to play in, but never for him."

They stepped outside barefoot.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sango's father roared at one of his guards. "This storage is supposed to be empty. How am I going to explain this?" He pointed at the storage. It stood full of bags among bags of rice.

"How did…" Kagome began asking Sango.

"That was empty yesterday. We never keep anything in there. We had kept some dry foods in there a couple years ago, but it got infested with mice, so we stopped." She stood there just as confused as anyone else.

"Dad?" Sango made her way to the middle of the crowd.

"Not now, Sango." He didn't even look at her. He was too busy thinking about how such a thing could've happened.

"Someone is trying to frame me…" he said at last. "If anyone finds me with this much rice, they'll accuse me with corruption."

Eyes widened. They all knew that this was probably the most logical explanation.

"But… who?" Sango's mother asked. She looked pale and frail.

"It could be any one of the officials in town. I don't why though." He rubbed his forehead.

"What can we do? Should we remove all these bags?" Sango didn't even want to begin to think of all the consequences her family would face once someone found out.

"Where? There has got to be at least a thousand bags of rice in there."

"Those sounds last night. If only I had gotten out of bed, maybe it wouldn't have happened. I might have been able to stop them," Kagome thought to herself. She felt guilty for not having done anything.

As Sango's family was trying to figure out what to do, there was on knock on their front gate. One of the guards walked out to see who it was.

The guard returned, with Kouga and his father. "Stop! You can just barge in like that," yelled the guard that was running after the pair.

Sango's dad quickly closed up their storage.

"Yang, good morning." Ximong, Kouga's father, smiled. His eyes gleamed in the morning sun.

"Good morning." He extended his arm and Ximong grabbed it firmly, grinning. "What brings you here this early?" Yang, Sango's father, and Ximong have never been good friends.

"I have heard that you have been accepting money… illegally."

"FROM WHO?" Yang yelled, louder than he should have.

"I can't disclose that kind of information, but I do have a way to check."

"You won't find anything." Yang looked confident.

"Just open your storage."

"What!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Oh, scared?" Ximong smirked.

Before Sango's father could respond, Kouga had already unlatched the door.

"So you have been doing some underneath the table dealing."

"No… no…" Yang was at a lost for words. "Someone framed me…" he thought, but didn't say aloud.

"I'm sorry for breaking this news to your family." He looked at Sango and then to her mother. "But I think I have to take you into custody."

"You can't take me for finding rice in my storage."

"I can if there's about a thousand bags of it." Ximong pulled out of scroll. "I have permission as the official of this city." He showed Yang his agreement as an official.

"You could have never known it was here… unless… unless you did it!" Yang was about to punch Ximong, but Kouga pulled him away faster.

"Good day everyone." He turned to leave; Kouga right behind.

Kouga pulled Yang's hands to his back and shoved him forward. He turned around to speak to his family, "Sango, take care of your mother. I'm innocent. They can't do anything to me," he said reassuringly and Kouga pulled him away.

"FATHER!" Sango yelled. Her mother was crying.

"Kouga!" Kagome yelled. She wanted to know how they had known about this.

"Not everything will go your way, darling." And he walked away, taking Sango's father.

A/N: Things are not looking to well for him. What is Sango going to do about it? She's not going to sit back and watch, I can tell you that.


	16. Injustice

A/N: There are so many problems in China back then, corruption and the fight for power, just to name a few. Now there is getting to be a hand full of characters. I liked the beginning were there were only like five, but now with all those officials. I hope it doesn't get confusing.

Oh, and I have to change one thing. Inuyasha and Kagome are going to be nineteen. I really didn't think it through during the first chapter, but fifteen is WAY too young. I'll try to change the parts where I wrote fifteen. Sorry.

Hopefully, I portrayed everything in the correct manner. Enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen

Injustice

Inuyasha and the monk reached the burial grounds by noon. The skies were clear and the place was peaceful. There was already a large monument erected and a large rectangular hold right in front of it.

Around the area were many other sites of burial of the previous nobility. It was only the most powerful and wealthy that ever got to be buried on these mountains. These mountains were the highest in all of China, known to be the closest to heaven.

The king was to be buried not at the utmost peak, but on one of the sides. The monk got out the carriage and called to the other monks that were already there. They helped take out the coffin from in the back.

Inuyasha helped carry his father to his last resting place. They lowered the coffin down. The hole was about ten times bigger than the coffin itself. Around the coffin there were clay solders and horses, food and water, and gold. The king would be buried with these items to make his stay in heaven more enjoyable.

The monks got down to their knees and in unison, the monk that had traveled with Inuyasha, started the prayers. Inuyasha prayed with them. The prayers were soft and calming, taking the dead to their final resting place.

&

Sango and her mom were in tears. "Yang did not do anything wrong! Ximong set him up!" Sango's mother cried out even after Ximong had taken Yang away.

"Mother, don't cry." Sango was trying to fight back her own tears now.

Her mother shook her head in fury. She knew that her own husband would not do such a thing… but there was no way in proving it. "There's no way that Yang did it," she cried even harder this time. "He didn't do it." She stood up too quickly to walk over to the storage and felt lightheaded. Before she knew it, she fell back… unconscious.

&

The burial was complete when the sun had set. Inuyasha and the monks had shoveled back the dirt and prayed for the lost emperor one last time.

It had been a long day for Inuyasha, and he felt tired. The carriage pulled away from the burial grounds and for the first time, tears slid down his face. He didn't wipe them away, but let them drop and hit the carriage floor.

The monument disappeared from Inuyasha's view as their spiraled down the mountain. He turned to face the front.

"You will learn to rule like your father. You have his determination." The monk's voice was kind.

Inuyasha nodded slightly. He only wished to be like his father. To be just a strong and brave… and daring.

"He has left his nation to you, knowing you will be the only one strong enough to rule it. You must know that."

Truly, Inuyasha didn't know if he was strong enough, if he was even ready.

"You will be a good emperor to your people." And those were the monk's last words to him. They rang in Inuyasha's mind the entire ride home.

"_You will be a good emperor to your people."_

If only it could be true.

&

Sango and Kagome carried Sango's mother up to bed and called for a doctor. The doctor had said that what had happened in the morning had put her into shock and that she should not be angered at such a great extent anymore.

He prescribed her some medicine that should calm her and left. Even by sun set, she had not woken.

"Sango…" Kagome said worryingly looking over at her friend who was watching her mother intently.

"I'm okay," Sango said this even though she was far from being okay. Her father was in jail and her mother had fainted. Soon, they wouldn't have a place to live.

Miroku knocked on the door before entering. He brought in the medicine and set it on the table. "Mr. Matsuo," referring to Sango's father, "will be alright."

"Not with Ximong accusing him. He will do everything to get my dad imprisoned for life. Whatever he has wanted before, he has always gotten." Sango said in rage.

Miroku fell silent. "But maybe…"

"Maybe what? I've been thinking about it the whole day. Even if we do find the person that was behind all this we need proof and even with proof we might not even be able to prove my dad's innocence. Ximong is a strong official here and he's using this time when the new emperor has just came up to power to overthrow my father. With Ximong as the official and the judge here… he has unlimited wealth and power."

"You can always try going to court to pleading your case tomorrow. The judge might let your dad go. There's no way that Ximong will be that judge. Don't give up hope." He hugged Sango and she cried in his arms.

"Thanks, Miroku." Sango pulled back from Miroku and sat back down.

"I'll go with you tomorrow." She smiled at him.

"Maybe he is the right one for me after all," she thought.

&

Inuyasha had gotten back to the place late and had gone to bed. The next morning he woke up, hardly remembering what had happened the pervious day. It had seemed to be just a long dream.

Myoga rushed into the room. "Hurry, your highness. Today is going to be your first meeting with all the officials. They want to discuss what you plan to do during your reign."

"AND YOU'RE TELLING ME NOW!" He screamed at his servant. How was he supposed to give a speech to all the officials with about less than an hour to prepare?

"I'm sorry," he trembled with fear, "You had gotten back late and before I had a chance you were already asleep."

Inuyasha took a deep breath and tried to cool his temper. "Just hurry and get me my robe."

"What am I going to say…? I, Inuyasha as emperor of China, plan to… Plan to what?" he thought in frustration.

Myoga dressed him quickly and combed back his hair. "What should I say?" he asked at last.

"You're asking me?" Myoga raised an eyebrow. Inuyasha always liked to do things his way and never wanted Myoga's opinion.

"Yeah, I do," he said to the ground.

Myoga couldn't believe his chance. "Well, first of all, you have to address the issue about our military. We need troops on the northern frontier to suppress the nomads and we must complete the Great Wall. Also we should build a navy. The navy would able to maneuver quickly along the coast and transport troops efficiently. The navy would also help us supervise over our southern tributary nations. Next you must talk about the taxation. The levels a taxation have gone so high that the commoners will not be able to sustain an adequate living place. Afterwards, you have to make clear as how much power the officials of each city will have. Some officials will be trying to get a higher rank and soon threaten your power even. You have to stand firm on your principles and make sure that what you say is backed up with reason. You must never sway towards one of officials if what you said you know is right," he paused, thinking if there was anything else to add, "Do you remember what all I just said?"

Inuyasha looked at Myoga in astonishment. He knew so much, but had never shared it with him before. "I think so… Do you have any more information?"

Myoga smiled. After all those years of being around the emperor and helping him, the knowledge had finally come into use and he rattled off everything that would possibly be helpful.

&

Kagome had walked home by herself, leaving Sango and Miroku to care for Mrs. Matsuo. She wanted to help her friend out, but she didn't know how she could.

On her way back, she passed by Kouga's house. The lights were on in the living room and she could see Kouga and Ximong standing there, talking in whispers.

Acting on instinct, Kagome crouched down and walked around the back, where it was not gated, and crawled under the bushes. She crawled towards the window and tried to hear what the two were saying.

"What are we going to do to Mr. Matsuo?" Kouga asked his father.

"We're going to try him for corruption and send him to the palace for another one as soon as possible. At the palace he will be held there for life. I have talked to some of my friends there already and they can arrange for that to happen. With him gone… the position as judge will be mine."

They laughed.

"But what if we get caught. What if someone finds out that we had set Mr. Matsuo up with our rice…?" His voice was unsteady.

"No one will catch us… unless you spill your beans." His father's voice was firm.

"I won't," he said barely audible.

Kagome couldn't believe what she had just heard. Ximong _was_ the one behind it. But how was she supposed to prove it to everyone. If she was to tell anyone besides Sango and Miroku, they would think she was accusing Ximong, and then she would find herself in jail.

She walked numbly back to her house and decided that in the morning she would know what to do.

&

Kagome rose the next morning still unsure of what to do. Still, she went to Sango's house.

"How is your mother doing?" Kagome was sitting at the living room with Sango and Miroku.

"She's better. She awoke and took the medicine last night, and then has been asleep ever since."

"That's good to hear…"

"What's wrong?"

Kagome paused, gathering her thoughts. "Last night, when I was walking home, I stopped by Kouga's house."

"WHAT? WHY?"

"I didn't go in. I was eavesdropping, outside. I heard… I heard that Ximong was the one to put all that rice in your storage and that… he wants to try your dad as soon as possible and that … he wants to send him to the palace."

Her friend stood there, stunned. "I knew it," she said faintly.

"I don't know how we can prove it though. Ximong wants your dad's position. He wants to be in totally control of this town." Kagome wanted to do more- help more.

"We're going to prove my dad innocence. We have to go to the courtroom," Sango said confidently, and hurried towards the door, with Miroku and Kagome behind her.

They stood outside the courtroom. Sango banged on the drum. "I have an injustice to report," she yelled out.

The doors were open to her. "What is it that you want?" an annoyed guard asked.

"I would like to speak to the judge immediately."

"Aren't you the judge's daughter?

"Yeah, but that's not the point. I need to speak to the judge in there," pointing to the double door that led into the courtroom.

"I have to know why before I can let you in."

Sango gritted her teeth. "It's about Mr. Matsuo. He was taken in yesterday."

"I will go tell the judge, in there, then." The guard himself didn't even know who the judge was.

"Who-" but the guard left before Sango could find out how the judge was.

"The new judge is anyone that is presently an official that Ximong appoints," Miroku told them.

"Whoever Ximong appoints? Then they are going to be on Ximong's side… How am I going to prove my dad's innocence? What should I say?" Sango didn't know what to do even though she had been pondering over if for the entire night.

"We will just have to counter question. We won't say that he is innocent. We first assume that he is guilty and prove that he can't be guilty, for all of what he has done. Ask all the officials or the people in the town, your father has done nothing but good. He tried people fairly and has never sought for more power. And if he was being corrupt. We will ask, 'With whom?'"

Kagome and Sango nodded at Miroku's reasoning. He was right. And hopefully with their argument, Mr. Matsuo will be let free.

The guard returned and led them inside. Sitting in Yang Matsuo's place was none other than Ximong.

&

Inuyasha was rushed into the main building. The same building that he had been taken to two nights ago for his inauguration. Inuyasha stood behind some curtains in a little room. He was standing right behind his throne.

"Are you ready?" Myoga asked.

Inuyasha nodded his head slowly. "I think so."

"Be confident." And he pushed Inuyasha out from behind the curtains and towards the throne.

The officials got to the knees and bowed to him. "Emperor."

"You may stand." Inuyasha walked over to his seat and sat.

He took a deep breath before being his speech. "I would like to address today and inform every one of my plans for our nation's future. The first issue is our military strength. I believe that we should have the finest and most well-trained men in our army. The Great Wall should be completed during my reign to keep out the northerners. I would also like to start a navy. We should build strong ships and navigate the oceans. On my trip, outside of China I have lived side by side with commoners and learned more from them then I had ever had before. I want to lower the taxation rates on them. They should be able to work and make enough to have livable conditions. The power of a nation rests in its people and with strong people we will have a strong nation." Inuyasha scanned the men. They were astounded that an emperor at such a young age could have such sophisticated thoughts.

He noticed his mother sitting diagonally from him. She nodded approvingly.

Then an official stepped forward. It was Sesshomura, one of the highest ranking officials. "I would also like to address some issues that the emperor has forgotten to mention."

Inuyasha didn't know what was going to. He wasn't even done. Sesshomura had just cut in when he had paused. Inuyasha, inexperienced, wasn't sure whether to object to what Sesshomura said or not.

Inuyasha tried to speak up, but couldn't. The rest of the meeting was in the hands of Sesshomura. He made some points that Myoga had told Inuyasha, but had also gone against some of the ones that Inuyasha had mentioned.

Inuyasha was frustrated. He had let his first meeting slip away from him. He was emperor after all, but he didn't have the power that Sesshomura had. Power to convince the officials that he was mature and ready for the position.

The meeting ended with the queen making some comments and Inuyasha walked out in dismay. "How could Sesshomura do that?" he questioned Myoga.

Myoga looked sad for his emperor. "Because… he is going to try to run things for you until you could prove yourself strong then him. He is going to try to act like an emperor. You're nineteen, still very young. You aren't even married yet. Marriage is a sign of maturity."

"You want _me_ to get married? That is going to help me? Did you see what the officials were doing out there? They listened to me for about five minutes and then everything turned to Sesshomura. I couldn't even interrupt him. I tried to raise my hand a couple of times, waiting to speak, but no one bothered to care."

"Marriage would be a sign that you are a man and not a boy. A sign that you can handle being an emperor."

"Kagome…"

"What? You can't marry Kagome."

"Right. I was just thinking…"

Just then, the queen walked up to him. "Inuyasha, you did great." She hugged him.

"Sesshomaru did well, not me."

"Now, don't say that. It was your first time out there in front of the officials. They… they really don't think you're ready. Sesshomaru came to me before the meeting and asked me if he should help you and I said absolutely."

"You said that he could help me!"

The queen was taken back at her son's reaction. "Why, yes."

"You just ruined that meeting. I hardly spoke. I wasn't even finished. Those things that Sesshomaru said, I don't even agree with most of the issues. I thought…" he voice quieted, "I thought that I would be running things."

"Don't let the power get to you so fast. You're not ready yet."

"When will I be?"

"When you marry."

"When I marry…" His thoughts came back to Kagome. How he had married her. It would be nice for her to help him out by marrying him. He smiled at this thought. He knew it would never happen.

"I have already thought about your bride."

"But I don't want to get married yet. I'm too…young."

"Now if you keep on saying that, you're never going to get the officials to truly bow down to you. That respect and honor you must earn and the first step is to show that you are a man."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. He knew he was ready. He could do it. But the officials now outweighed his power. He needed them to be loyal to him.

"Fine, who?"

"Suga's daughter, Kikyo"

A/N: OMG! Inuyasha's is emperor without the real power and Yang is imprisoned for an act he didn't do. Kagome and Inuyasha will have to somehow get back together soon. And then they'll have to solve all these problems. So much is happening!


	17. Rash Decisions

A/N: Have you guys been watching the Olympics? Last night was amazing speed skating action. Apollo got gold and then got 3rd for his relay team. Very exciting.

So here is the next chapter. Thank you everyone for reviewing and reading. Hope you will stick with me till the end. There's going to be a little… new information at the end. So read on to find out.

Chapter Seventeen

Rash Decisions

Sango stood, speechless. "How could it be…" she thought.

It took her a couple of moment to regain her composure. "What are you doing in my father's chair!" she said angrily at last.

"Now, now," his words slurred together, "There has to be a judge when you're dad is… away."

Sango shook with fury. "You… you're just…"

"Don't lose your cool, Sango," Miroku said warningly.

"I'll say that you should listen to your boyfriend there. I have the right to appoint any official to be the judge in the absence of one… and I appointed myself," he grinned in satisfaction. "Now, what was the injustice that you were yelling about?"

"Yang Matsuo, the judge of this city, has not been corrupt," Sango told Ximong, staring him straight in the eye.

"Well, I believe differently. We have all the evidence that he was. We caught him with the storage full of rice, did we not? He just wasn't telling his daughter about it."

"You're the one that set him up!" Sango couldn't believe that she was actually trying to convince Ximong, the man that had wrongly accused her father that her father is innocent and should be released.

"You shouldn't be pointed fingers. It wouldn't help your father's case."

"I believe," Miroku stepped forward to speak to Ximong, "that a trail is necessary for the imprisonment of Yang Matsuo. We need him to testify and also imprison the other person in question that was dealing money with Mr. Matsuo."

Ximong smile broadened. "Of course that is necessary. It surprised me to find Yang with a storage full of rice. He even had me fooled," he called one of the guards over, "Bring Yang out."

Sango turned around to face Miroku. "Thanks. I just don't know what got into me."

"It's okay. I'm here for you."

"And together we can prove your dad's innocence," Kagome added.

Sango smiled at her friends. She nodded in agreement and at the same moment, her father was dragged out by two guards.

&

"Kikyo?" Inuyasha asked. "But why…"

"Kikyo and you have been friends every since you were young. And her father has been a very loyal official to your father. The match couldn't be more perfect."

"It's true that Kikyo and I have been friends… but I don't see her as my wife."

"I don't think you can see anyone as your wife," the queen huffed at him. "Anyways, I have told her to come this evening and have dinner with us. So just be friendly."

"Do you do anything consulting me first?" His mother had agreed to have Sesshomaru "help" him out and now he was going to have dinner with Kikyo.

"What kind of tone is that? I'm still your mother and I know what is best for you. You might be emperor, but that doesn't mean you can do everything," his mother said angrily and walked away.

Inuyasha shook his head. He didn't know what to do. There were so many things that he had to do as an emperor and his officials weren't going to let him run things. Now his mother was treating him like a boy.

"Myoga, is there anything else I have to do today?" Inuyasha asked tiredly.

"Sesshomaru has requested to see you this afternoon."

"What would he want to talk to me about? He knows everything and thinks he can be emperor." The last thing that Inuyasha wanted to do that day was talk to Sesshomaru.

"I didn't ask."

"Well, from now on you better start asking."

Inuyasha walked out of the room in so much anger, he could've killed someone.

&

Yang looked like he had aged a decade in a single night. His hair was tangled and messy. He was dressed in an old white robe and his hands and legs were cuffed.

"Let go of me! I can walk by myself," He yelled at the guards, who kept on dragging him. The guards dragged him past Sango and let go of him.

"Sango!" he stood up and turned, about to walk over to her.

Yang was pushed down onto his knees before he was even allowed a moment to take a single step. "Bow to Ximong."

"Father!" Sango wanted to run to her father, but Miroku held her back.

"NEVER!" Yang struggled to stand up, but was held down.

Ximong looked at Yang amusedly. "Enough, let him stand if he wishes."

Yang was released from the grip and stood. "You can't keep me in there Ximong. I know that you are loving where you're sitting right now, but you don't deserve it. You're going to regret what you are doing."

"Oh, why would you say that? My son and I found you that morning, out in the backyard. You were checking your stock, weren't you?"

"Someone is trying to frame me. They had stocked up my storage that night," Yang defended. He still didn't know that it was Ximong.

"We have the proof. You can't deny your crime, Yang. Someone was going to find out sooner or later."

"My father didn't do it! I know who did."

"Sango!" Miroku yelled at her. He knew that putting the blame on Ximong wasn't going to help them. Actually, with Ximong the judge, nothing could help them.

Ignoring Miroku, Sango kept talking. "Ximong did it, father. He is the one that framed you." Tears slid down her face.

"Sango… What you're saying… are you sure of it?"

She nodded.

"Ximong, I can't believe you stoop that low. So you want my position that badly, eh?" Yang spat at Ximong.

Ximong knew that even if Yang knew it was him, he couldn't do anything about it. He was helpless. All the power rested with him.

"What if I did do it? You can't prove it. You're just guessing that I did it. This trial is over. Yang is guilty for corruption and shall remain in prison until further evidence proves otherwise. Take him away."

Yang was pulled away from the guards. "You can't do this Ximong!" He struggled to break away from the guards. "Don't worry about me, Sango. Find the evidence. He can't lock me up forever."

Sango merely nodded at her dad and watched him get dragged away again.

"Do you think any evidence is going to help you?" Ximong asked her when Yang was out of sight.

"We'll have to see." With that, Sango, Miroku, and Kagome left.

&

Sesshomaru waited for Inuyasha in the emperor's library. Inuyasha had showed up late intentionally. He was sweating from fighting, trying to release all his anger.

Sesshomaru went down on one knee and bowed to Inuyasha. "What do you want?" Inuyasha asked impolitely.

"Don't use that kind of language anymore. You're an emperor now. A model to all the people of China."

"What is that you wanted to discuss with me here today?" Inuyasha gritted his teeth.

"I just wanted to go over the issues that were discussed earlier today."

"What I discussed or what you said?" Inuyasha spat.

Sesshomaru smiled. "What you said of course. Do you intend to do everything that you mentioned?" He paused, waiting for Inuyasha to answer. "You have high ambitions," he added.

"And I would have finished them, if you didn't cut in."

"Your highness… I did you a favor. Don't thank me that way."

Inuyasha couldn't believe that he was spoken to this way. Sesshomaru was a high ranking official, and he knew it. He held all the major armies. Just with his word, all those men could come and take down the palace. Inuyasha only commanded a meager thousand troops.

He remembered what his father had told him. _"Inuyasha, the palace is a dangerous place. There are very strong men and very loyal men. They are very different and you should never get them confused," his father coughed, "Sesshomaru is a strong man. He is decisive and very strategic. He has always served me well, but I have no doubt that he will try to steal the power away from you."_

"_He wouldn't, father. I wouldn't let him." Inuyasha didn't want his father to worry about him. He didn't want his father to leave._

"I want to run _my_ meetings from now on. I don't need you to run them for me," Inuyasha spoke.

Sesshomaru shook his head. "You don't know what you're talking about, emperor. You have only been in power for a few days. You don't know how to run things. Your father would not be happy in heaven looking down on his son standing on… his _lost_ empire."

"Don't threaten me."

"I wasn't trying to."

"Then what point are you getting at?" Inuyasha didn't know what Sesshomaru wanted and he was getting more enraged by the second.

"Just let my help you, until you're ready. Then I'll leave everything to you, but before then I don't want this empire to fall into the hands we don't want."

"You want a bit of the power. You want to be a bit like the emperor."

"No, of course not. You're the emperor, not me. I want to help you."

"I don't need it."

Sesshomaru smiled at the young emperor. "Don't be coming to me for any help then."

He turned to leave. Inuyasha breathed out in relief when he was out the door.

Myoga, who had been standing quietly, spoke up. "That was unwise, your highness."

"What you do mean by that?" Inuyasha sat down behind his desk.

"You will need Sesshomaru's help."

"How would you know?"

"He's a strong man. All the officials trust, or at least obey, him. You must now work hard to get all the other officials to trust you and gain control of the armies."

Inuyasha thought about it. With Sesshomaru's help, he wouldn't be running the empire. But now, without it, he will be doing a lot of work.

"Set up a meeting with the highest ranking officials and nobles tomorrow. Tell them I would like to give a speech about my plans."

Myoga nodded his head.

Inuyasha looked out the window. The sun was setting over the horizon. It looked beautiful. "I am going to run this place," he promised to himself. And so he would live up to that statement.

&

Sango, Miroku, and Kagome sat around the dining table trying to figure out what to do next.

Suddenly, Sango exclaimed, "I know! We can go in tonight, break into the prison, and free my father." She was already getting up and walking toward her sword in the corner of the room.

Kagome grabbed Sango. "Wait, let's think it over before we do something we'll all regret."

"No, it's going to work. Me and Miroku will go in there, fight off all the guards. Then we'll just take the keys from one of the guards and open the cell and get my father about of there. As for you Kagome, you're going to try to steer the guards in the wrong direction."

Miroku and Kagome didn't know what to say to that. The plan was thought out and it _could_ work…

"Please, you guys have to help me," Sango begged.

"What do we do when we do free your father? He's going to a criminal."

"We'll just go into the rural areas. If what Kagome says is true, then we only have a few days to do something until my father is sent away to the palace."

"I'm with you, Sango," Kagome stood up beside her friend.

"Miroku?" Sango asked.

"I don't have a choice do I? The things I do for my love…"

Sango rolled her eyes. "Thank you," she added quietly.

&

Kikyo walked slowly into the queen's bedroom. She was raised into well-mannered and obedient young women. Her head held high and her clothes elegant.

She looked nothing like her mother or her father. She was unique. Her hair gleamed in the sun and her eyes always glistened.

"Your highness," she said sincerely as she bowed to the queen.

"Stand up. I asked you to come a bit early today because I want you to try on something." The queen got out a beautifully designed light pink silk robe. The thread shimmered like gold and the artistic work was impressive.

Kikyo's eyes widen. "I can't accept this. It's just…"

"Beautiful isn't it? It took over a year to make this. Try it on now. It's going to look gorgeous on you."

Kikyo couldn't refuse such a generous gift from the queen. Ever since she was little the queen had treated her as if she was her own daughter.

She slipped off her robe that she wore. The queen unfolded the robe and threw it on Kikyo. She looked at Kikyo's right arm. A bit above her elbow on the upper part of her arm, there was a set of teeth marks.

The queen looked at it for a second before pulling the sleeve over her arm.

A/N: Why does Kikyo have a set of teeth marks on her arm? And why only a set, not two like Kagome? What does the queen know? Let me hear what you guys think. You'll all find out… probably not too soon… I still have a bit to go.


	18. The Moaning of the Wind

A/N: Gosh, it is taking me forever to get Inuyasha and Kagome back together. I think either the next or the one after the next should get them back.

Inuyasha, in my story, really never has liked Kikyo. They have been friends ever since they were little, but he has never loved her. Or anyone… yet. But there is something special about Kikyo. I hope I give you guys enough hints to figure it out before I come out and tell you directly. Hope you like it and thank you everyone for reading and reviewing!

Chapter Eighteen

The Moaning of the Wind

Kikyo spun around in front of the queen's mirror in her new robe. She looked like a princess.

"It's beautiful," she said at last.

The queen smile knowing at Kikyo. "I know it would be just right for you. You're going to look magnificent tonight."

"For Inuyasha," Kikyo blushed. Kikyo had always had a secret crush on Inuyasha, but he had always treated her like his younger sisters. He cared for her and wanted to protect her, but she knew he didn't love her like she wished he would.

"We better get going. Start a conversation with him tonight about his journeys. I didn't even have time to ask him yet myself. He was in a bad mood this morning, but hopefully he has calmed down by now." The queen and Kikyo walked out of her room and made their way into the grand dining area.

Inuyasha was already seated at the head of the table. He was reading a pamphlet and didn't notice Kikyo approaching him.

"Your highness," she said bowing.

"Kikyo…" She looked prettier than the last time he remembered seeing her.

She took a seat to his right and the queen sat down to his left. "It's been awhile since we've last seen each other. How was your trip?" Kikyo tried starting the conversation.

"It was alright."

Kikyo knew that Inuyasha didn't like to talk much and usually conversations would end up with her talking and Inuyasha merely listening.

"How was the city? Who were some of the people that you meet there?"

Inuyasha was already getting annoyed with her. He didn't feel like talking and only wanted a peaceful dinner after his long day and he couldn't even get that.

"The city was different. I meet some people." He shrugged. What else was there to say?

"Oh, come on. Tell me some stories."

"Yes, Inuyasha. I want to hear some as well," the queen added trying to help Kikyo.

Inuyasha thought for awhile. He had stories, so many stories, but he didn't want to share them with Kikyo.

"Nothing really exciting. You'll be bored."

"Try me," Kikyo pursued.

"I fought against Kouga, an official's son, and beat him."

"Wow! You're such a good fighter," Kikyo thought about what to say next and then added, "Why did you fight him?"

How was he going to answer this? "Well… there was this girl and Kouga wanted to marry her, but she was only marrying him for money because the taxes have run too high… and so…" Now he was blabbing. Why couldn't he just lie? "I fought him, so I proved he didn't deserve her and I gave her money to pay off her debts." There we go. He didn't have to into the part where he pretended to marry her.

"You're so caring Inuyasha," Kikyo squealed.

"I'm glad that you can care so much for the people of China," the queen said.

After that, Kikyo stopped trying to question Inuyasha any further about his trip. She talked about what had happened to her and just rambled on trying to fill up the emptiness.

They had about seven courses. Each one was prepared perfectly, but for some reason, Inuyasha missed Kagome's cooking.

"Thank you for having dinner with me, Inuyasha," Kikyo said before she left.

"You were… good company," Inuyasha managed in return.

Kikyo left soon after and the queen stayed behind with Inuyasha. "Isn't she such a sweet girl, Inuyasha? Maybe next time, you two can go on a little date together, just the two of you."

"No, mother. Kikyo is a nice person, but… why are you doing this? Can't a choose someone that I love? Why does it have to be her?" Inuyasha didn't want his mother to dictate his life.

"I told you before. She's Suga's daughter. You grew up with her and I know her very well. What is wrong with her?"

He didn't know. He didn't know why he has never fallen in love with Kikyo. Because… Because… she wasn't like Kagome. Kagome had made him feel different. She didn't try to please him. She didn't even know he was the emperor now. Kagome treated him like a normal person, but she had also made him feel… alive and happy. She had given him happiness.

"I just don't love her, like I should love a person that I'm going to marry," Inuyasha said harshly.

"You're going to marry her, and I'm not going to let anyone else marry you unless I die before that." The queen's tone was serious. She meant every word she said. She loved Kikyo, far more than Inuyasha could ever imagine.

Inuyasha wasn't sure if he had heard her right. 'Unless she dies?' Did she really want him and Kikyo to get married that badly? What reason did the queen have, he thought. Inuyasha didn't want to continue this bizarre conversation and left the room.

&

It was the middle the night, when Sango woke Miroku and Kagome.

"Uh?" Kagome rubbed her eyes.

"It's time. Wake up, Miroku," Sango kicked him.

"Ouch!" He yelled and got to his feet- his eyes still closed. "Where are we going?"

"Don't you guys remember anything? We're going to get my dad out of prison. Now hurry up."

Miroku blinded grabbed his sword and followed Sango, with Kagome behind him.

They walked silently onto the deserted streets. The jail was located behind the courtroom that they had gone to just that morning.

Sango whispered into Kagome's ear, "Now, I want you to scream as loud as you can. Wait until the guards run out to see what is going on and the start running. If they catch you, then tell them that you were being chase by someone. Okay?"

Kagome nodded.

"Just wait until Miroku and I get behind those bushes."

Kagome was left in the middle of the street by herself. As soon as Miroku and Sango were fully hidden, Kagome let out a deafening screaming.

Guards soon came racing out to see what had happened and Kagome ran for her life. She prayed that it would be enough time for them to free Mr. Matsuo.

&

Sango and Miroku saw the guard exit and dash after Kagome. "Be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you tonight," Miroku whispered to her before they entered.

Sango nodded and quickly made her way to the cells where the prisoners were kept.

The jail looked eerie in the night. Everything was dead quiet and all Sango could hear were Miroku footsteps ahead of her. They waited outside the front door before entering together.

There were only two guards standing to the entrance of the cells. They noticed the two intruders immediately. "Get out!" one of them said shakily.

Then another guard yelled, "You're the judge's daughter. You don't belong here." He knew exactly why Sango had come- for her father.

"I'm sorry that I have to do this." She didn't want to hurt anyone. Ximong was the only one she wanted to kill, not these innocent guards that were just trying to do their job.

During this time Miroku had made his way behind one of the guards and knocked him out by hitting the back of his neck. The guard fell limply to the ground.

The other guard looked panicked and pulled out his sword. Sango quickly flung his sword out of his hand and Miroku hit him on the neck just as he had done to the other guard.

"Are they going to be okay?" Sango asked unsurely.

"They're just going to out cold for a couple of hours. We have to hurry before the other guards get back." He took the keys from one the guard's pocket and started searching the rows of cells.

"You take the right," he said. Sango and Miroku raced down the hall until… they reached the very end.

"He's not here…" Sango said in despair. She was facing the last cell. It was empty.

Miroku looked around him, just as confused. "I'm sorry." He pulled Sango to him. Her head leaned on his chest. He stroked her hair and she cried for her lost father.

&

Kagome ran through the empty streets with the guards right on her tail.

She was making her way north, almost to the end of the city boundaries and heading for the palace. Kagome had been screaming the whole run and was not completely out of breath. It would be soon that they caught her.

Up ahead she noticed a carriage. It was going slowly and heading out of the city. "Who is traveling this late?" she wondered.

Kagome gave one last cry of help before tripping on a rock and collapsing to the ground. From the carriage, Kouga heard Kagome's cry. He stopped it and jumped out of rescue her.

"Kagome! Where are you?"

He wondered blindly in the dark until finding her on the ground. "Kagome, are you all right?" He helped her up.

Kagome quickly pulled away from him. "I'm fine," she said defiantly.

"Well, you were the one to cry for help."

"I was being chased by someone. Of course I had to cry for help."

"Who was it? And what were you doing out in the middle of the night anyways?" He raised an eyebrow.

Kagome didn't answer because they guards had indeed found her at last. "We heard you screaming, ma'am."

"Someone was chasing me. I was out taking out some of the trash and this crazy person came after me. He probably saw everyone and stopped. Thank you for your concern," she reported. It sounded pretty good too- like a true story.

"It's our duty. Do you need an escort back home?"

"I can't take her or else I would. I have business to do, would you mind?" Kouga asked.

"Come with us, ma'am," the guard told her.

"What are you doing tonight?" Kagome asked Kouga before he left.

"Something important." He winked at her and returned back on his carriage.

Kagome turned to follow the guards home and hoped that that had been enough time for Sango and Miroku to get Mr. Matsuo out.

The wind had picked up slightly and Kagome could swear that she heard moaning. "Let… me… go…" But she shook her head. It must have just been her imagination.

&

Kagome was escorted back to Sango's house. "We'll try to catch the man that was running after you, ma'am."

"Thanks," Kagome said awkwardly.

"Good night," one of the guards said and left.

Kagome walked quickly inside to see if Mr. Matsuo was safe and sound. There was light in the living room. "Well, at least their alive," she reassured herself.

She found Miroku and Sango sitting with sad faces. "Where's Mr. Matsuo?" she asked, before greeting them.

"Kagome," Sango looked up. There were tears in her eyes.

"Mr. Matsuo wasn't there," Miroku told Kagome, "We got there and checked every single cell."

"How could he not be there? It was just this afternoon that we all saw him. They couldn't have taken him anywhere else." She didn't understand.

"I don't know where he could be." Sango hid her face into Miroku's shoulder and cried.

Miroku gestured to Kagome to stop questioning the issue.

Kagome's mind would not drop it. Then it hit her. Tonight Kouga had said that he had something important to do, the moaning of the wind, the urgency in Ximong's voice to get Sango's father out of this city. Everything was fitting together.

"Sango, I know where your father is. Tonight when I was running from the guards, I ran into Kouga. He was out tonight with a carriage and said that he had something important that he had to do or else he would have escorted me home," Kagome took in a breath of air. She was talking fast, but it was all making sense now, "Then when the guards were taking me back to your house the wind had picked up and if had heard something on the lines of: 'Let me go.' I had just thought that it was my imagination, but I think that it was your father that said that."

"Are… you sure?" Sango sniffed.

"I'm pretty sure. Ximong had even said that he wanted to get your father to the palace as soon as possible. He might have known that would try to break into the jail."

"So, we will have to make our way to the Forbidden Palace then," Miroku stated, "It seems about right that no one would ever travel this late into the night or then he was doing something illegal."

Sango nodded. "I'm going to leave at the break of dawn." She looked uncertainly at her two friends. "Would you… go with me?"

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" Kagome smiled.

"I'm your soon to be husband, your mate for life, your other half, my love, of course I will."

"Yuck," and for the first time in awhile did Sango laugh.

A/N: Finally, Kagome is going to go to the Forbidden Palace! Things are going to get shaken up. Please review.


	19. It Couldn’t Have Been a Better Restauran

A/N: I'm so sorry it has taken me forever to update this chapter. I just couldn't figure out how to get Kagome and Inuyasha to meet again. I hope it turns out alright. It's not romantic or anything. Sorry again. But meeting someone again, usually isn't romantic. It's kind of just fate.

Thank you everyone for reviewing and reading. I need ideas and comments. I had my story planned out pretty well… up until this point, that is. I hope you like it. Next chapter is going to be interesting. I can feel it… that's because Kagome and Inuyasha are back together, but other than that I really don't know what is going to happen. Okay, I'm rambling. I hope you enjoy it! Read!

Chapter Nineteen

It Couldn't Have Been a Better Restaurant

Kagome left Sango and Miroku to return home. She walked tiredly to her room, but then noticed that Kaede's room shone light beneath the door.

She knocked before entering. "It's Kagome," she whispered, so none of the lodgers that night would be woken.

"Come in," Kaede said simply. Her aunt was sitting on one of the chairs of the small table that lay in the middle of her room. She was holding onto a red blanket… there were tears in her eyes.

"Sit down, Kagome. There are some things that I think you are old enough to know now." She obeyed and sat down beside her. Kagome looked at the cloth carefully. She didn't remember ever seeing it before. It looked old, but it was still very beautiful in its design.

Kaede examined Kagome over carefully before beginning. "This cloth was all you had on you when I go you on my doorstep nineteen years ago."

Kagome at first couldn't comprehend what Kaede had said. "Your doorstep? But you said that…"

"I know what I told you before. I had lied all those times. I didn't want you to question me on who your parents were and leave me to find them. I had treated and cared for you as if you were my own daughter. I didn't want to let you go. There was no note on you -nothing that could trace you back to who your parents could be."

Kagome hugged Kaede. "I will always love you, Aunt Kaede. I saw you as my mother. I would never leave you in order to find my parents. Never. My parents must not have loved me if they left me on your doorstep. You're the one that has loved me for all those years. And I… will always love you."

Kaede's tears that she was holding in fell from her eyes when she heard this. "My dear Kagome… you're not mad at me from lying to you for all these years?"

Kagome wasn't mad at Kaede. All her questions that she wanted to know for so long were now answered. It was more of a sense of relief. She would never have to wonder again why Kaede would not want to talk about her parents. "No, of course not."

Kaede smiled slightly. "I would like to give you this," she handed Kagome the red silky cloth. "This is your last connection to your parents aside from the two set of teeth marks they left you. If you ever want to find your parents… I would understand."

For as long as Kagome could remember she had wanted a mom and a dad like all the other kids in the city. She wanted to be like them. Now she was given a chance to find them. She wouldn't leave Kaede. She just wanted to see who they were… and especially why they had abandoned her.

She took the cloth in her hand. It was small, made to wrap a baby with. The design was elaborate, all done with gold thread.

"I… I would like to find them. Ask them some questions… But I don't want to be their daughter. I want to live with you and no one else. You're the only one that I will ever consider family."

Kaede nodded her head understandingly. "You were so young when I found you, probably only a couple days old. Both your arms were bleeding from the bites and you were just crying." The memories seemed to rushing back to Kaede as if these incidents had only happened yesterday.

Kagome hardly could take in all this information.

"You better go to bed now," she continued, "It's very late. I was up waiting for you to return."

Kagome stood up, about to leave, until she remembered. "Aunt Kaede, I was going to tell you that I'm going to go with Sango and Miroku to the Forbidden Palace."

"What for?" Kaede's eyes widen, her mood had changed completely. The Forbidden Palace was definitely not a place where anyone could come and go as they wished.

"Mr. Matsuo was taken there tonight."

"How do you know this?" Kaede voice sounded tense.

"Sango and Miroku had broken into the jail tonight. They were going to break him out, but he wasn't there. Also, Kouga was out tonight taking a carriage headed for the palace."

"Mr. Matsuo is innocent. I know that for a fact," Kaede thought for a moment to either let Kagome go or not, and after some hesitation, she said, "You may go to the palace to help Sango, but I warn you to be very careful. Don't trust anyone, but Sango and Miroku. I trust that you will be old enough to decide where to go with your life now."

Kagome nodded her head. "I will."

"And about Inuyasha… when will you two be married."

"I don't know. He has some things to do up north."

"Will you be leaving in the morning?" Kaede didn't want Kagome to leave her, but she knew that Kagome needed to help Sango.

Kagome nodded again. "I will back as soon as I can. I promise," she said reassuringly.

"Go to bed. Get the rest you need for the journey tomorrow. I will be okay here. Don't worry about me." Kaede put on a smile for Kagome.

&

The queen lay in her chamber, tossing and turning in her sleep.

_She was walking through a forest. "Kikyo," she called. There was fog all around her and she couldn't find her lost child. _

_Suddenly, Suga's wife, Michiko, appeared in front of her. "Give me my child back!" she screamed at the queen._

"_No… I can't." The queen was shaking. "I want to see my daughter… Where is she?"_

_Michiko let out a wicked laugh. "What have you done? I have treated your child with nothing but kindness. Where is my Kikyo?"_

_Kikyo then appeared behind Michiko. "Kikyo, there you are. I was so worried about you."_

"_Mother…" Kikyo said looking confused at Michiko._

_Michiko pulled out a dagger and lifted it to the air aiming straight for Kikyo's heart._

Before the end of the dream, the queen sat up in her bed and screamed. Sweat drops fell from her forehead. "Kikyo…" she breathed heavily, "What did I do nineteen years ago?" And her held her face in her hands and cried.

&

At sun rise, Kaede stood outside to see Kagome, Sango, and Miroku go.

"Bye Aunt Kaede. Take care!" Kagome hollered one last time.

Kaede waved back and said something inaudibly. Kagome turned facing away from her aunt. "I'll be back, don't worry," she wanted to tell Kaede.

She repositioned herself on the back of Sango's horse. Miroku was riding just to their right. "What is your plan once we get there?" she asked Sango.

"My father used to be close friends with an official named Suga. I have heard from my father that he has moved his way up the ladder in the palace and now stands as one of the most trusted officials in the palace. I was thinking of… of asking him for help, but the thing is… I've never met him before in my life. My father and Suga were friends throughout college and had gone through studying for the examinations together. After my dad had settled now, Suga had left for the palace. My dad hasn't seen him since."

Sango's plan seemed far and out of reach. Without knowing how Suga even looks like, how were they supposed to convince him to help them?

"Sango, I hate to break this to you," Miroku spoke, "but how are we even supposed to find Suga once we arrive there? Officials don't usually live within the palace -" He was about to continue, but Sango interrupted him.

"We will find Suga or else I'm not coming back."

Miroku and Kagome both nodded their heads slightly. They didn't want to make the situation any worse by talking about it.

"Come on, we have to pick the pace if we want to get there before dark." Sango hit her horse harder than she intended to and they launched forward. Kagome, taken by surprise, grabbed quickly onto Sango's waist and let go for her wrapped belongs.

The contents fell and spilt to the ground. "Stop, Sango!" Kagome cried.

Miroku dismounted first and picked up her clothes that had fallen out. Kagome hastily grabbed her red blanket and brushed the dirt from it. She held it closely to her chest. It was her very last connection to her parents.

"What's that?" Sango asked, indicating the blanket.

Kagome didn't know where to start. "This… this was the blanket that was wrapped around me when I was found on my aunt's front step."

She paused a moment, letting the information sink in. Everything that Kaede had told her the previous night seemed to be resounding in her ears right now. Kaede was not her real aunt and her parents might still be alive and well today, but they had left her. They had not wanted her. This hurt Kagome the most deeply. She was just a newborn, what had she done that had ever made her parents want to leave her?

Ever since she was a young child, she had wanted to be like the other kids- to have a mother and a father, but she didn't have that and believed for so long that her parents had loved her and had died and under the circumstances given her to Kaede to care for. But this was all a fake image that Kaede had drawn for her.

Sango was the first to speak again, "Kagome… did you just find out?"

"Kaede told me last night. She doesn't know who my parents are." Kagome eyes were sad. They looked distant and they didn't have the beautiful gleam in it that it typically did.

"Are you going to try to find them?" Miroku asked taking a closer look at cloth.

"How am I supposed to? I just have this," Kagome said in frustration. "I want to… but it's just an impossible task."

Sango bit her lip, thinking. "Maybe some of the tailor shops might know about this piece of cloth. It looks unique. It doesn't seem that ordinary and untraceable. You can find them… if you really put your heart into it."

"But do I really want to find them and meet them?" Kagome couldn't figure out if she would truly want to find them. "They left me just as a baby. What kind of parents would ever do that to their child?" Kagome looked from Miroku to Sango. "Let's go, we better hurry." She picked up the last of her things and tied up her bundle.

Sango and Miroku returned to their horses, not knowing what else to say of Kagome's situation.

&

Inuyasha rose to another day as emperor. He was still not very used to the idea. Everywhere he went people would bow down to him; it made him uncomfortable, but he couldn't stop them from doing so. Today, Inuyasha promised himself, would have to go better than it had yesterday. He had arranged a meeting with Suga and some other officials.

He would have to be able to get these men on his side. The night before, he had stayed up late and written out all his plans. They would be his goals for China and they would be the guiding force behind his rule.

Stretching before he got out bed, he called for Myoga. "Get me my robe. I want to start the meeting in about an hour." Myoga nodded and quickly ran to get the emperor his robe.

Soon, Inuyasha was sitting behind his study desk, facing five officials. "Good morning," Inuyasha started, his voice quavering a little. These men were about as old as his father and for them to listen to a nineteen year old… well, it would be a little awkward. "Yesterday, I did not get to finish my statement on my plans."

The officials nodded in agreement. It was odd for Sesshomaru to cut in that way. He didn't even give Inuyasha a chance.

Inuyasha took his plans that he had written and started to talk. This time no one was going to stop him. His point that he stressed the most was that the common people of China shall never have to pay taxes higher than the money that they earn from their jobs. He wanted everyone to bow down to him, but through respect not hate. Inuyasha wanted to make sure that everyone on his lands would be safe and properly feed. The wealth of the country is only determined by the wealth of your people, he believed. His next point was trade and relationship with out side countries. For many years, China had been very closed off. They had no records of any of the other countries. He wanted to change that. He was going to start building ships and starting a navy.

After he had finally finished, he looked up and stared straight into the eyes of his officials. He would have to learn to trust these men and these men would have to learn to be loyal and respect him. "Do you have anything to ask me?" he asked.

From the group, Suga was the first to speak. "Your highness," he began, his voice was deep and wise, "I am very happy to hear that you understand your position as emperor and take into the account of the welfare of the people of China. It is very rare to see that in a young man, but however, I do want to address the issue of forming a navy and relationships with other foreign nations. China has always thought of itself as very self-sufficient. We see ourselves as a strong power that does not need to have any help from the other powers. It would be a sign of weakness for us to go out and trade with others. We have learned to provide everything we need by ourselves; do you really see the need of building a navy?"

Inuyasha thought about the question carefully before answering. The people of China believed that they did not need any outside communication, but Inuyasha, on the other hand, viewed that any new knowledge worth learning could never be a negative aspect. "I believe that with our knowledge of the waters and new ideas from other countries would be of positive contributions to our society. The money needed to fund the research and equipment will not be small, but the outcomes will be far greater than the expenses."

Suga nodded, weighing the negative and positive aspects. The other officials turned to discuss the issue of a moment. The talked in soft whispers, not loud enough for Inuyasha to overhear.

After long consideration, the men turned back and agreed deeply to Inuyasha's plans. "We fully back these plans that you have discussed today." Suga spoke for the group.

Inuyasha grinned. He took his stamp and imprinted his signature on the plans. The signature was red and it looked magnificent beside his writing. "These plans will go into work starting today," Inuyasha said as his closing statement.

Myoga beamed at Inuyasha. The emperor had actually taken his ideas. After the men left, Inuyasha stretched out his hand behind his back and let out of long breath of relief. "I'm sure glad that was over."

"You did very well, your highness," Myoga complimented.

"Thanks to you," Inuyasha smiled. How could he ever thank Myoga enough? Without him, he didn't know what he would have done.

"It's my duty to serve you."

"Is there anything else I have to do today?"

Myoga scratched his head, trying to remember. "Oh yes. The queen has requested for you to have another dinner Kikyo, just the two of you. She said that you and Kikyo were having a really great connection last night and she didn't want you two to lose it because you hardly get to see her."

"What!" Inuyasha sat up straight in his chair totally outraged. "I will not have dinner with Kikyo. I don't want to marry her. She's just… just not the right one."

"Your highness…" Myoga sighed, "Is it Kagome-"

Inuyasha didn't even let Myoga finish. He didn't want anyone to think he might have any feelings for Kagome… if he even did have feelings at all for her. "No, I wasn't thinking of Kagome. Kagome and I never get along when I'm with her. I just haven't met the right girl for me." Inuyasha shook his head in frustration. "Let's stop talking about this. It gives me the goose bumps."

Myoga chuckled. "Okay, your highness…"

How was he supposed to get out of this dinner? "Myoga… what do you think-"

"Oh no…" Myoga could sense that this was going to be a bad idea. There was a gleam in his eye that always appeared when he was thinking of one of his great ideas, which usually ended in a big mess.

"I didn't finish yet," Inuyasha smiled. He had a great plan up his sleeve. "I just want to get out of this dinner. So…" he dragged out his words, "we should just sneak out and have dinner in the city."

"I knew it wasn't going to be good." Myoga shook his head.

"Tell the queen that after the meeting I didn't feel well and will have to be in bed for the rest of the day. We can sneak on a carriage. I have the golden seal. None of the guards will stop you if you show them that. I'll hide in the back and you can drive." Inuyasha crossed his arms, amazed at himself of coming up with such a plan.

"Your highness, what if the queen finds out? What if someone catches you? What if-"

"Stop with the what-ifs already. This is going to work unless you don't want it do work. Your coming with me whether you like it of not. Understood?"

Myoga sighed and looked to the ground. He had no choice but to obey. The emperor could dismiss him from his duties if he wished and Myoga was not going to take that chance.

"Great. We'll leave at around six. I'll meet you at my chambers." Inuyasha left his study feeling splendid. His meeting had gone well and now he wouldn't have to endure another dinner with Kikyo. Everything was going perfectly.

&

Kagome, Sango, and Miroku had ridden through the forests and finally had gotten close to the city just before the sun had fully set and yet they still did not know what they would do once they got there.

The city that they had come upon was the one right outside the palace. Many of the officials that did not reside in the palace lived there. It was a bustling city, full of people roaming the streets. Sango and Miroku took their horses to some of the stables and joined up with Kagome at a restaurant.

The restaurant was clean and medium size. It had reminded Kagome of her own restaurant. A nice young waitress asked for their orders and delicious hot food was laid out before them in no time at all.

"Gosh, that was good." Miroku yawned. "So what do we plan on doing tomorrow?"

"I don't know…" Sango rested her chin on her fist.

They were interrupted by screaming on the other side of the screened off area.

"I told you I wanted fired rice. And this cup is filthy," came a loud masculine voice.

"I'm sorry sir," said a soft female's voice.

"Hurry up and get it now!" The same waitress that had served them came out from behind the screen. She looked shaken up a bit. Kagome sat up in her chair. "I can't believe any person can treat another person that way, especially a waitress that is always at your beck and call. I'm going to go over and talk to the person," Kagome said standing up fuming.

Sango grabbed her arm. "Just leave it alone. I don't you to get into an argument with a stranger."

"No," Kagome pulled her arm away, "I'm going to shed some justice into this world."

Kagome strolled over to the table next to hers. Her head was high and her shoulders were relaxed. Her voice was strong; she didn't even look at the man before she began yelling at him. "Did you know what you just did? You just yelled at a very nice waitress who is here to serve you, but she is not here to be yelled at. Everyone can make a mistake once and a while and that does not ever give you the permission to yell at her." Kagome looked straight into the man's eyes and her voice was stuck in her throat.

The man sitting across from the table was none another than Inuyasha himself. He stared back at her in disbelief.

"Kagome…" he said softly. He had wanted to see her again ever since he had left that morning to return to the palace and now she was right in front of him...

A/N: Finally, they see each other again. Man, did that take forever. I kind of skipped over the part where Inuyasha snuck out, but it would have been boring. Myoga meets him, they sneak out without any problems, and they decided to have dinner at the same restaurant. What a coincidence?


	20. One Room, One Palace A Place for Two

A/N: Thanks everyone for reviewing. I can't believe I'm at 224! In the beginning I was hoping for 100, since I was a new author and all. I'm really glad that you liked chapter nineteen. I think it was one of the hardest chapters to write because I kept on dwelling on how Kagome and Inuyasha would meet again. Now I think I should be a little easier.

I got the ending planned out and everything. It's going to be so happy. Estimate on how much longer: 20 chapters, I think, but it shouldn't be too super long. Well, enjoy!

Chapter Twenty

One room, one palace- a place for two

"Inuyasha…" They both looked at each other. It was completely silent. Kagome couldn't think of anything to say. Things had happened so fast. She was yelling at him for screaming at the waitress and now… she was just staring at him. Kagome had wanted to see Inuyasha. She wanted to be by his side… but the first things that slipped out of her mouth didn't at all represent her feelings. "What are you doing here?" she asked incredulously.

"I…" Inuyasha was suddenly found at lost with words- the question was not what he had expected. He had never felt this way before around Kagome. He had always felt comfortable around her, like he had nothing to hide, but now he did. He had a lot to hide from her. "I can go where I want," he replied harshly. "This was just the next city I wanted to go to." He paused. "What about you? What are you doing here?" he shot back at her.

"You don't have to be so mean about it. Gosh." Kagome pulled out a chair and sat down at his table.

"Who said that you could just sit down?" Inuyasha said roughly.

"Oh, come on. You don't have to treat me like a total stranger. We're going to get married soon," she said in attempt to lighten the mood.

"Right." Inuyasha smiled at her. He looked her over carefully for the first time. She looked tired and her eyes showed sadness.

"And you still have to apologize for just leaving," Kagome exclaimed, remembering how hurt she was to find him gone that one morning.

"I left you a note," he answered slowly.

"I know you did… you know I can't read. You could have woken me up… I wanted to say goodbye to you." I thought it would be the last time I would ever see you; she wanted to add but did not.

"I'm…" Inuyasha swallowed hard. He had never said sorry to anyone. Never to his parents… never to a girl. "I'm sorry, Kagome," he said sincerely at last.

Kagome's eyes gleamed and a smile formed on her face. She had not expected Inuyasha to say sorry. He sounded so honest… his tone had completely changed.

"I thought that me leaving without waking you would be better for the both of us. I wouldn't have to see you disappear beyond the horizon… knowing that…"

"Knowing that we probably would never see each other again," she finished for him.

Inuyasha nodded slightly. "You didn't answer my question yet."

"Oh, right. It's long."

"I have all night to listen to your story." He slid back onto his chair into a more comfortable position.

"I don't want to spend all night with," Kagome joked.

"But your dear husband does." He laughed. They were finally getting used to each other's company again.

"Fine, but don't complain when you get bored."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I won't. Now go on with your long story already."

"Well, just after you left. I found the note you had written for me. I couldn't read it, so I had asked Sango to read it to me. I spent the night there and the following morning, Mr. Matsuo, Sango's father, was accused for being corrupt. Ximong, Kouga's father, had arrived that morning and found Sango's storage full of rice. I had never seen it there before and Sango had said that it was empty just the day before. Mr. Matsuo was then taken to jail. Sango, Miroku, and I went to ask for a trail, but Ximong had taken over as the judge and accused Mr. Matsuo of corruption until further evidence proves otherwise. Sango started to panic, so we broke into the jail that very night, but Mr. Matsuo wasn't there. I had seen Kouga that night out taking a carriage heading for the Forbidden Palace, and I had also overheard Ximong talking about wanting to have Mr. Matsuo taken to the Forbidden Palace as soon as he could. So now, we think that Mr. Matsuo is in the Forbidden Palace locked up somewhere and that's why I'm here- to help Sango free her father."

"Oh…" was all Inuyasha could manage from her story. He had been away from her for just a few days and _all_ of this could happen?

Kagome continued, "But we don't know what to do now. We can't just walk into the Forbidden Palace. And Sango's father used to be good friends with Suga, but she has never met him before. Everything is just so complicated."

"You mean you just took off without a plan at all of what you would do once you got here?" Inuyasha asked skeptically.

"Yeah, that's we did." Kagome nodded.

Inuyasha wanted to help her. He could try to find out some information about Mr. Matsuo when he got back to the palace. It probably wouldn't be that hard, but people might get suspicious. "Do you plan to just stay at the inn?"

"Where else would I sleep, Inuyasha? On the streets?"

It probably wasn't too safe for a young girl like Kagome to be spending every night out sleeping in an inn. She didn't know how to fight, she wouldn't be able to protect herself at all and on top of that, this was a new city to her. He wanted her to come with him back to the palace, but he knew that was nearly impossible. He had to come up with a plan.

"What are thinking about?" Kagome asked him after he had turned silent.

"I was just…"

She raised an eyebrow and eyed him oddly. "I was just thinking about... it's none of your business anyway."

"Okay then…"

"Stay here, I have to talk to Myoga about something."

"Private?"

"Something you're not allowed to hear," he smirked.

Inuyasha took Myoga by the arm and dragged him to the back of the restaurant. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Do about what?"

"You know about what- Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice was tense.

"What do you mean? You have to be back to the palace tonight. I can ask about Mr. Matsuo tomorrow." Myoga faced Inuyasha, eye to eye. He felt that Inuyasha was not satisfied with his answer.

"Myoga… Isn't there some way to get Kagome, Sango, and Miroku inside the palace? It's not safe for them to be here in a town they hardly know."

"It's not safe for Kagome. Sango and Miroku will be fine," Myoga responded, gritting his teeth. They had already broken enough rules tonight for even being here, and now Inuyasha wanted to have Kagome, Sango, and Miroku and stay in the palace.

Inuyasha looked frustrated. "What about having Kagome be a servant? Wouldn't that work?"

"Well… maybe" Myoga replied hesitantly, he couldn't believe it he was letting this happen.

"Then it's set."

Inuyasha was turning to return back to the table, but Myoga stopped him. "If you take them to the palace with you, they're bound to find out that you're the emperor."

Shoot, Inuyasha thought. "We can… have her work in the kitchens. I will go see them after dark; it's going to work, don't worry." He forced on a smile.

He was determined to make it work. If anything was to happen to Kagome then it would be all his fault, and he was not going to let that happen. Once was enough. He felt the need to protect her for some odd reason. "Wait," Myoga said stopping him again, "you just told Kagome that you're here in the city to visit, like you did before. You never told her that you are now living in the palace."

Why were there so many problems? It was just one thing that he had to hide and look at all the other lies he would have to come up with. "I'll make up something." Inuyasha gritted his teeth.

"But-"

"Shut up, Myoga. I don't want to hear it."

Inuyasha strolled back to the table and sat down across from Kagome.

"So?" she asked slyly.

"I had to discuss some things over with Myoga."

"Obviously." Inuyasha was sure acting weird tonight.

"Well, I had received a letter from my father, and he has work at the palace so I'm going to be staying there for awhile."

"Oh, I thought that you were just visiting this city, like you had done before."

"Well, I am… kind of." Lying was one of Inuyasha's talents. He had done it so often as a child, but lying to Kagome was harder- and he didn't know why. "I snuck out tonight for dinner here. This restaurant had reminded me of," he hesitated, "your restaurant."

"What does this have anything to do with… anything?" Kagome did not understand him. She had asked him before what he was doing here and he had given her a simple answer, but now he was just rumbling on about why he was here.

"Since I'm staying at the Forbidden Palace, I just thought to offer you a place to stay," he spat in irritation.

"I didn't know you were that nice," Kagome looked at him with overwhelming awe.

"Just forget that I even thought about mentioning it."

"No, no. I would love to stay in the palace. Thank you!" She stood over and reached over the table to give him a hug.

"Let go," Inuyasha said, choking for air.

"Sorry," Kagome smiled at him and her smile made him forget about everything.

"But, you would have to work in the kitchens or as a servant. I just can't bring three people into the palace."

"That's fine," she said quickly, "I'll go and tell Sango and Miroku. Thank you again." And she left, leaving Inuyasha looking at her leave him.

&

"I can't believe Inuyasha is here," Sango told Miroku.

"Yeah, it's like destiny has things set up for them." He grinned, "Oh, hey Kagome. We thought that we would leave you two alone," he said as her saw approaching.

"Very funny."

"We did you a favor. You should thank us," Miroku was laughing. "It was hilarious when you were yelling at him."

"Whatever, but I do have good news if you would like to hear it and stop laughing at me!"

"Okay…" Miroku choked, trying to keep from laughing. It was just the scene where Kagome was yelling at Inuyasha kept playing back in his mind.

"Inuyasha has proposed that we stay in the Forbidden Palace."

"What!" Sango exclaimed, "Are you serious? In the Forbidden Palace?"

"Dead serious," Kagome beamed, "We just have to work there, but other than that, we have a place to stay and we'll probably be able to find Suga and meet him easier."

"You're amazing, Kagome." Sango embraced her.

&

"Your highness…" Myoga said bitterly.

"What, Myoga? And don't call me that!" Inuyasha responded irritably.

"It's not a good idea to have Kagome come to the palace with you. I can feel it."

"Now why would it not? Do you have something against her?"

"No… it's not that, but she's going to find out sooner or later that you're the emperor and it's just not going to be a pretty picture."

Inuyasha sighed. "She'll find out someday and maybe I'll tell her before she finds out for herself."

"Your highness…" Myoga said again.

"What did I just say about calling me that!" Inuyasha screamed.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I just-"

"I don't want to hear another word from you for the rest of the night." Inuyasha didn't want to think about the consequences right that instant. He just wanted for Kagome to come with him to the palace. She would be safe and he could probably find a way to free Sango's father.

I just don't want you to start having feeling for a common girl was what Myoga wanted to say. He sat there, hoping that Inuyasha's decision tonight would not turn out to be a big mistake.

&

Sango came over to Inuyasha's table to thank him along with Miroku and Kagome. Sango just could not believe that it was happening. She had come here without any plan, but now everything was going to work out.

"It is no problem. I hope that you'll be able to free your father soon. It's terrible that he was accused of something he did not do."

Sango nodded in agreement. "So when will be heading over to the Forbidden Palace?" Kagome asked.

"Right now?" He turned to Myoga to see if they should leave, but Myoga just turned away from him.

"He's mad at you, Inuyasha?"

"He's just in a bad mood, don't worry about it. We better get going."

"Okay," Kagome said deciding to drop the subject.

"Inuyasha," Myoga said in a harsh whisper.

"What?"

Myoga stepped away from the other into a corner, waiting for Inuyasha to follow suit.

"You can't bring them back tonight. It's too late. The guards will inspect the carriages more thoroughly. We should wait until morning, before the crack of dawn."

Inuyasha understood what he was saying. "Thanks Myoga."

"Just don't make any slips," he added.

"Oh, I won't," Inuyasha smirked. He walked back to the three-some and said, "We're going to have to wait until the morning to head to the palace. We will just have to a room for tonight, and then we'll leave before dawn."

"Sounds good," Sango said without even questioning him. "I'll go ask for a room." Things just couldn't be going any better. After they got into the palace, she would be able to find Suga and then find her father. Everything had to go right from now on.

&

"How can I help you miss?" the lady at the counter of the restaurant asked Sango. The restaurant was exactly like Kagome's. On the second story, there were rooms for lodgers.

"I would like two rooms for tonight please."

She looked down at her book to see what rooms were left. "I'm sorry, but we don't have a single room left."

"All of them are full?" Sango couldn't believe this.

"Yes, it hardly happens, but the emperor's parade will be in a couple days and people from the other cities have come to see that."

"What's the problem?" Inuyasha said as he approached.

"There's no more rooms left," Sango answered.

"Then we'll just go to another inn. There's plenty of them."

The lady shook her head. "Yes, but most are just as full as ours. Our business is usually slower than the other inns because most don't know about it, and even it is full. I can almost guarantee that there are no more rooms anywhere else."

"And why is that?" he asked confused.

"The emperor's parade," she signed, having to explain everything twice.

"The what!" Inuyasha couldn't believe his ears. Miroku heard him and remembered that Inuyasha was now the emperor. He felt kind of shaken up by the fact. He had completely forgotten- until now.

"Well… what if a pay 1,000 yen for a room," Inuyasha spoke slowly regaining his composure. How could he not know about his own parade? As emperor, he was not being acknowledged very well.

She smiled slightly. "I do have one more room then, but just one," she added.

She led them upstairs. It was her own room. "Have a nice stay."

"We only have one bed?" Kagome said, stating the obvious. With the five of them in one room, someone was bound to be sleeping on the ground.

"And I get," Inuyasha said defiantly.

Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say anything, Inuyasha added, "I paid for the room, or else we would have no room at all." He collapsed on the bed.

"Would you mind me joining you?" Kagome got on the other side of the bed and shoved him over. "You have to share at the very least. Can't you act like a gentleman at all?"

"No, I don't want to sleep with you." Inuyasha pushed her, trying to get her off of the bed, but Kagome rolled forward.

She landed on top of him. Their eyes locked and it seemed like the moment would last forever.

A/N: Hehe, their stuck in one room and look what happened in like the first minute they were in there. Lol. More to come soon. Uprisings in the palace- not really though.


	21. It Was Not Meant To Be Known

A/N: OMG! I have updated. I am so sorry. I can't believe that I didn't write for that long. I went to Dallas at the end of April for a DECA trip and I got top 10 in the nation! The trip was so much fun. The people were great and the experience will be unforgettable. Then when I got back I had to get ready for finals and for the AP test on World History. So I just took my AP test yesterday and now I only have one more day of school left and three more finals to take, but they're not going to be bad at all.

So again I'm sorry for not writing in like forever. I was thinking about posting a note discussing the delay, but I didn't want you guys to get an e-mail saying that I had updated and then just reading my note. That would be lame. So I did post something on my author's page, but I doubt anyone read that. So I was planning to revise chapter twenty, but in the end I decided that it wasn't too bad of an ending so I kept it. I'm not going to get all mushy in my story though, so sorry. Okay, I hope you guys will like this next chapter. I included less dialogue, because it seems like that is my whole story and I'm not writing a script, I'm writing a story. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-One

It was not meant to be known

They both looked deeply into each other's eyes, not knowing that there were still three other people in the room. Time seemed to cease between them. It was only the two of them left. Their feelings that had been long hidden from them surfaced. Love, care, trust.

Miroku coughed slightly to get their attention. In an instant the spell between them broke. Kagome quickly got up from the bed and brushed off her shirt as if she had been contaminated and Inuyasha did the same.

Both Inuyasha and Kagome were red, not knowing what to say. The room was completely silent. Miroku looked from one person to the next, waiting for someone to say something.

"You can have the bed, Kagome," Inuyasha mumbled to ground at last.

"Thanks…" Kagome responded to her feet.

In the end, Sango and Kagome got the bed and the three men were lying on the hardwood floor. Inuyasha looked up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. It was near midnight when someone tapped on his shoulder.

Miroku had been forcing himself to stay awake and waiting for everyone else to fall asleep. "Inuyasha? Are you still up?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha rolled to his side to face him.

"I just wanted to know… if you had been…" Miroku hesitated, "been crowned … _emperor_?" His last word was almost inaudible.

Inuyasha wasn't sure if should answer. Did he want Miroku to know? Yet since Miroku had already known that he was prince, it wouldn't matter.

"I was crown emperor a couple days ago," Inuyasha said at last.

Miroku nodded. He had known that Inuyasha was emperor and he had only asked to make sure. "You'll make a good emperor to China," and that was all Miroku said before falling asleep.

Inuyasha smiled. He only dreamed of being a good enough emperor of his people and with that thought in mind, sleep finally came to him.

&

Kagome did not believe what she had just heard. Inuyasha was the emperor of China. He was the emperor! She had been lying awake, unable to find sleep as well.

Words played back in her mind. _Where are the drawers, you can't talk to me like that, I'm staying at the Forbidden Palace… _Everything fit. Inuyasha was emperor. He had left her city right before the emperor had died… his very own father had just passed away. Kagome didn't know what to think of it. All this time she had been around him, she didn't suspect that he was so… royal. How was she supposed to act around him now? She couldn't tell him that she knew… and even for awhile, she thought that she liked him… loved him even so.

For the rest of the nights, random thoughts frustrated her and she was only able to get about an hour's worth of sleep before someone was shaking her.

"I don't want to get up yet," Kagome muttered, not even opening her eyes to see who was waking her.

"Kagome…" It was Inuyasha.

Kagome sat straight up immediately. "I'm up." Inuyasha looked at her perplexed. "We're going to be going to the palace now, so just get your stuff together."

She let out of sigh, why was she so tense around him now?

The sun was not even up yet. The moon still shone its light though their window. She got up and picked up her only bundle of clothing. Everyone had gotten up before her and they were already half way down the stairs before she even left the room.

Inuyasha had stayed behind to check that they had taken all their belongings and closed the door behind Kagome. "You look tired. Did you not get enough sleep?" he asked her kindly. They had ended on an awkward note last night.

"No, I did. It must have been the trip that exhausted me," Kagome lied.

Inuyasha nodded and they walked in silence to the carriage. Sango and Miroku were sitting on the left side of the carriage and Kagome and Inuyasha sat together on the right. "Everybody set?" Myoga shouted to them from the front.

"Yeah, we can go now," Inuyasha said.

Their trip was in total silence. Sango and Miroku feel asleep almost immediately. Kagome was trying hard not to fall asleep, but in the end fatigue overpowered her and her eyes closed. Her head soon rested on Inuyasha's shoulder. He looked down at her. She looked different than she had the first time they had meet. Her face showed signs of stress and worry. He wanted to be able to keep Kagome from all the dangers and worry of life, but he knew he couldn't. He remembered her so young before, and now it seemed that she had matured.

The carriage came to a slow stopped. They were at the entrance. Myoga showed them his golden passport. The guards asked no questions and didn't search the carriage at all. The gates were opened to them and would not be Kagome's first time in the palace.

&

Inuyasha nudged Kagome to wake her. "We're here." Kagome opened her eyes, noticing that she had slept on Inuyasha's shoulder, she quickly sat upright.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's alright," he looked at her. She wasn't acting at all normal today. "Is everything okay? You seem all uptight around me."

"No, no. Everything is fine. You said we're here; I want to see." She spoke fast and before Inuyasha could say anything she had already gotten out of the carriage.

Kagome looked around her in total awe. They had stopped right in the middle of a courtyard. There was a small pond in the center and a bridge that crossed over. Kagome ran over. She peered into the pond. Small catfish were swimming around and beautiful lotus flowers were floating on top of the water. On the other side of the bridge was a small gazebo with a whole assortment of different colored flowers that surrounded it.

Beyond this were four large buildings. Each looked almost newly built. The architecture was something that Kagome had never seen before. The roofs were a bright red tiling and the edges of the windows looked like they were engraved with gold.

"Doesn't it look beautiful?" Inuyasha asked her.

"Yeah, it's like a dream." She could hardly believe that she was here. It was so beautiful. Everything looked so perfect.

"I'll have to show you the entire place some other day because I have to go to a meeting pretty soon. Myoga will show you what you have to do. Take care of yourself here. Don't trust anyone and don't ever tell them how you got in here. Got it?"

Kagome nodded. "Thank you, Inuyasha… for everything."

Inuyasha smiled. "It was nothing." And he walked off.

&

Myoga showed Miroku, Sango, and Kagome to the kitchens. He talked to the head of the kitchens for a long while and finally she accepted the three. "They better be what you said they were or else they're going to be gone before tonight," the lady said.

"Of course they are," Myoga said with not that much confidence. "Good luck and don't make her mad," he whispered to them and left.

The three looked at each other, not really knowing what to expect. The lady came back and threw them three aprons. "Put these on. I'm Lin and that's what you're going to call me from now on. For today you're going to be cutting and washing all those vegetables." She pointed to three gigantic baskets filled with various vegetables. "One for each of you."

As soon as Lin was gone, Kagome said, "I can't believe we have to work under her. Couldn't Inuyasha have gotten us a better job than this?"

"Oh, don't complain. At least we're in here. I just have to ask Inuyasha if I can see Suga soon, then we'll be out of here."

Miroku looked sadly down at a head of lettuce. "I have to agree with Kagome, Sango. I hate this."

"Oh hush. I'll do some of yours if I finish fast." Sango was working quickly. She didn't want to get kicked out of the palace. She was a step closer of finding her father now and she was not going to let anything get in the way.

&

Inuyasha ran quickly to his room and changed. He would have to run another meeting with all of his officials again. When he had gotten into the room, they were all ready.

"Good morning," Inuyasha said.

"Your highness," they said in unison, each bowing down. They all stood up and Sesshomaru stepped out, in front of the others. "Your highness, I would like to inform you that there has been an uprising of the nomads in the northern regions. We have already sent some soldiers to subdue them, but we might need more men."

"How many men were sent already?"

"1,000 of _your_ men, your highness." Inuyasha could not believe what he had just heard. Sesshomaru had sent his men to subdue the northern nomads without even asking him.

"_My_ men?" Inuyasha said heatedly.

"Yes, your men have had the best training. I wanted soldiers that would take care of the nomads without too much trouble."

The other men around Sesshomaru were whispering to each other in disbelief. Inuyasha was now scared of the power he held. He was not able to control it. He now didn't have any men under his name.

Finally Inuyasha managed, "If we receive information that the nomads are advancing then we will send more men. Any more issues for today?"

No one else spoke and the meeting was over. Inuyasha sat in his chair, trembling with fury. He had to be more careful and more aware of the happenings around him or else he would soon lose his power… and be at the mercy of Sesshomaru.

&

They soon finished cutting up the vegetables and three more baskets were brought to them- these were for dinner. After they had completed the task again, Lin came back and told them to go to different rooms and refill the tea.

Kagome went to each of the rooms on her list and finally there was only one left. This room was bigger than all of the other rooms. It looked more elegant. The furniture was all inlaid with gold designs and there were porcelain pottery placed about the room. Kagome filled the pot of tea in the middle of the room and before she was about to leave, something caught her eye. It was a painting of the royal family. Inuyasha was kneeling in front of his father and on to the right was most likely his mother. It was such a picturesque image of a perfect family.

Kagome looked at the painting for a long time, examining every part of it. The artist was very skilled. It almost looked almost like a photograph. Kagome longed for a family like that. She wanted a mother and a father. She wanted to have their love when she was young and she wanted their love and support now. It hurt her to know that her parents had left her. Couldn't the story that Kaede used to tell her be true- that her parents had loved her until they died?

Suddenly, Kagome heard footsteps approaching. She knew she shouldn't have stayed in the room too long, but the painting had just totally mesmerized her.

The person that came into the room was no other than the lady in the painting- the queen.

Kagome quickly got down to her knees. "I'm sorry. I was looking at the painting. I came to refill your tea. I'm sorry."

The lady smiled. "You must be new here. I've never seen you before. You can't have to shake at the sight of me," she laughed, "You didn't do anything wrong. Get up."

Kagome slowly got to her feet. She looked into the queen's eyes. They were kind and loving. "Yes, your highness. I'm new here."

"Why are working here? You seem very young. You have the rest of your life ahead of you." The queen always felt so bad for the girls that worked in the palace. All of them could do some much more with their life rather than spending their entire life here… wasting it all away.

"My family needed money," Kagome lied.

The queen nodded, almost expecting the answer. She looked Kagome over. "What's your name?"

"Kagome." She didn't know why the queen was even bothering to talk to her. She was just a servant; she was expecting to be dismissed almost immediately.

"That's a very pretty name. You seem to remind me of someone… I just can't place who. You look so familiar." The queen couldn't understand why she felt that she knew Kagome. The moment that Kagome had lifted her face, the queen knew there was something different about her. "Would you like me to show around the palace? You can keep me company." She used this excuse to know a little more about the girl.

"I have to get back to the kitchens. I have been here longer than I was supposed to be already."

"I'll send someone saying that you're going to be with me. Don't worry about that. Come on."

The queen showed her the different monuments and buildings. There was over a dozen courtyards and more than a hundred buildings. The palace seemed endless. As they walked from place to place the queen would tell her all about it and Kagome began to feel more comfortable around the queen. She told her about her city and her restaurant. The queen listened to her and showed interest in her stories… like a caring mother.

&

Inuyasha sat in his study- still in fury. "Myoga, I want to read about every single occurrence in China right now and I want to be able to come up with a plan to work out the problem before night fall and you're going to be helping me. And we are going to get my men back to the palace as soon as it is possible."

Myoga quickly ran out of the room to retrieve the information.

"I can't believe I being put in this position. And again for that matter," he fumed to himself. "I'm going to be ready for everything this time. I'm going to rule this nation by God."

Soon Myoga returned with stacks of information. Everything that was possibly happening in China was soon on Inuyasha's desk. They shuffled through the papers and sorted out the important issues. Next they would have to find a way to solve all the one hundred and ten problems. By nightfall, Inuyasha and Myoga were both exhausted.

"The only way for you to control your officials is to let them know that you are the one that holds the power. You have to be feared. You can't let Sesshomaru run your nation. You can't let that happen and I won't stand by and let it happen," Myoga told Inuyasha was he got up ready to leave for the night.

"Thanks Myoga. I wouldn't let it happen."

"You wouldn't if you act like you did today. An emperor has to work. It's just not all about the glory." Myoga left and his words were lingered in Inuyasha's mind.

&

Kagome finally returned to the kitchens and Lin acted nicer to her than she had before. It must have been that she was with the queen, thought Kagome.

Dinner was served and the three of them were allowed to retire for the night. Lin showed them their beds. It was a room full of other members from the kitchens. Sango and Miroku quickly changed into the pajamas and they talked about their plan in finding Mr. Matsuo before going to bed. Kagome left their "dormitories" when the two had fallen asleep and walked outside with the piece of cloth in her hand. She wanted to go back to the bridge with the pond beneath it.

There were some things that she still didn't get to think thoroughly about. The place was easy to find and it looked even more beautiful than it did in the morning. There were lights around the area that caused the pond to glow. Kagome sat down on the bridge letting her legs dangle over the edge.

She held the cloth tightly in her hands. She had to ask herself the same question again: did she want to find her parents? Out of no where, tears started to fall from her eyes. She wanted to and she knew it. She wanted a mother to love her and a father to protect her. She wanted a family.

"Kagome?" A voice suddenly asked her.

She turned her head to see who it was. It was Inuyasha. He was standing right beside her and she didn't even notice until he had called her name. He sat down beside her.

"I was looking for you and then I thought that you could be here because you seemed so taken away by it this morning. Is everything okay? Were you crying?"

Inuyasha looked closely at her face. It was hard to tell in the dark because the lights were dim. "Yeah, I was," Kagome wiped the back of her hands across her face, "but it was nothing."

"It couldn't have been nothing. What is that in your hand?"

Kagome unfolded the cloth and laid it in her lap. "This," she said, "was the only thing on my when I was found on the doorstep of Kaede's restaurant."

Inuyasha looked at her in puzzlement. "What? The only thing on you? She's not your aunt?"

"No," Kagome shook her head, "I just found out too. I didn't know for all these years. I thought that both of my parents had died, but now I know that I was abandoned."

"Kagome… I… I'm so sorry." And that was all Inuyasha could say. He didn't know how to comfort her otherwise.

Tears started to come from her eyes again. "Do you think that I should try to find them?"

"Your parents? How could you though? You only have a piece of cloth… from nineteen years ago."

Kagome nodded. She knew that it would be near impossible to find them. "But I want to. I want to know them. I want to know why. Why they had left me. Why they didn't want me."

Inuyasha pulled Kagome to him and she cried it out. "I want to know the answers. I wanted a mother and a father and I was not able to. I was only a baby. I had done nothing wrong yet for them to leave me, Inuyasha."

He stoked her hair. "I'll help you find them. Just don't cry."

Kagome continued to cry. She was finally able to let it out. All her anger and sadness. "They could've left a note… they could have done something more," she said lifting her head.

"Everyone has their reasons."

"Like you…" Kagome wanted to tell Inuyasha that she knew.

"Me?" Inuyasha said confused.

She nodded. Her eyes gleamed from her tears. "You're not just some regular person. You're more…"

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha didn't know where this was going.

Kagome took a deep breath. "You're the emperor." She stated it as a fact. She wasn't asking him in order to be sure of it. She knew that he was.

A/N: So she knows that he is emperor and he knows that she knows now too. Will this change their relationship?


	22. Understanding

A/N: Thank you for the all the reviews. I hope you like this chapter. There's a lot of stuff that is going on now: Inuyasha's emperor, Kagome needs to find her parents, Sango has to find her father, Kikyo has to try to capture Inuyasha's heart, Miroku still has to find a way to get Sango to love him, Kagome and Inuyasha still have to fall deeper in love, and what about those teeth marks? I'm going to try to get to everything.

Oh, and I have a quote that relates to the first part of this chapter. It is: The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch with, never saying a word, and walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you've had." Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Two

Understanding

Shock went through Inuyasha. He was meaning to hide it from her, until some time that it would be suitable to tell her… but how did she already know? Inuyasha couldn't believe this was happening to him.

"How do you know this, Kagome?" he said quietly.

Kagome looked up into his eyes. Her face was illuminated by the moon's light and it showed sadness, a loss of trust. It almost tore Inuyasha's heart to see her expression. "I heard Miroku ask you during the night in the inn. I couldn't fall asleep… Why did you keep that fact from me all this time and tell Miroku? All those lies that you have made up and now you've even brought me into the palace, your home."

Inuyasha knew that the first time that they had met, he had never imagined that they would ever get as close as they were now. He didn't see the relationship that he would build between her. He hadn't expected all of this to happen. He just thought that she was another girl that he would meet and then forget about… but that didn't happen.

Inuyasha waited for a moment before he answered her. Silence lay between them, except it was comfortable silence. It seemed that it was necessary; no one needed to say anything just yet. "The first time I met you," he began, "I knew that I had to keep my identity a secret- to everyone. You don't know how dangerous it could be if other people knew that I was the only son to the emperor and the only reason that Miroku knew was that he knew that the prince's name was Inuyasha. Myoga had already told me that you would find out sooner or later and I had told him that when the time was right I would tell you my true identity, but I guess you found out before I even got the chance."

He slowly slid his hand into hers. "You have to know, Kagome, that I'm still the same person. I'm just sorry that you I wasn't able to tell you about it."

Kagome wrapped her hand around his and they sat there for about an hour, neither one of them saying anything more, but each of them knew that there was something more between them than before.

&

Kikyo roused early to get ready for the new day- a new day to see Inuyasha. She took a warm bath and picked out one of her prettiest robes to wear. Maids swept around her to ponder her face, get her jewelry and everything else that she could possibly need. Kikyo was just going out the door before she saw her mother.

"Kikyo, leaving already?"

"Yes, mother. I'm going to be staying at the palace for dinner as well so you don't have to wait for me." Kikyo turned to leave, but her mother had one more thing to say to her.

"Tell the queen that I give my regards and tell Inuyasha that I wish him great successes for the future." She looked at her daughter longingly, as if she wanted to accompany her to the palace, but only could not.

"I will," and Kikyo got into the carriage to head over to the palace, not even looking back or thinking further about what her mother had told her.

&

As soon as Kagome had walked into the kitchen, Lin told her that the queen had requested her company.

"The queen?" Sango asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, I had run into her while I was refilling her tea yesterday." Kagome rubbed her eyes, still tired. She had not gotten back to her room until really late.

Sango nodded and Kagome headed over to the queen's quarters slowly. As she approached, she heard voices from within.

"Mother, why are you making Kikyo come here again? I have enough things to worry about already; I don't need her to be another issue."

"Inuyasha, you have to worry about your personal life as well. You need to mature. China will always have its problems and when you do find the solutions to all of it, than it's going to be too late…"

"Why Kikyo, mother?"

"I've already answered that Inuyasha. You know the reasons."

"Can't it be anyone else?"

"Inuyasha, you are not allowed to argue with me on this issue; I'm your mother and you have to respect the decisions that I make for you."

Kagome heard this all and wondered if it would be appropriate if she entered. She decided that it probably would be best if she entered rather than wait outside eavesdropping on their whole conversation.

"Your highness," Kagome said as she bowed down to the queen and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha stared at her in disbelief. What in the world was Kagome doing here?

"Kagome, my dear." The queen walked over to embrace her. "Thank you for coming. I was just discussing so matters over with my son here."

"Nice to meet you," Kagome said. She extended her hand to him. Inuyasha shook it firmly. He was thankful that she didn't give it away that they already knew each other.

"I better be going, mother. I'll see you tonight at _dinner_." Inuyasha said and smiled at Kagome without the queen seeing before he left.

"Did you want me to get you anything," Kagome asked politely. She still did not know why the queen was treating her so nicely, what did she possess that compelled the queen?

The queen shook her head. "No, I didn't ask you to come just to get me something. I want to ask you a favor. I remember that you said that you worked at a restaurant yesterday and that you can cook fabulous dishes."

"Well, I don't know about fabulous, but I can cook," Kagome laughed.

"Tonight, Inuyasha is going to be having dinner with Kikyo, so I would like you to prepare something extra special for them. Inuyasha has had food from our cook for the past ten years and I want it to be something different."

"Of course I can make something for them," Kagome managed. Throughout this whole time, she had been wondering who Kikyo was. What did Inuyasha mean when he had said, 'couldn't it be anyone else?' Did the queen want Inuyasha to … to get married with Kikyo? Kagome couldn't even bear this thought in her mind and she left promptly before she got to even meet Kikyo.

After a moment, Kikyo came through the door. "Your highness!" She hugged the queen, not even waiting to bow to her.

"Kikyo, you look just lovely today." Kikyo spun around for the queen to see her whole outfit.

"I'm so happy that you invited me to come have dinner with you and Inuyasha again. I know the last time didn't go too well."

"No, it didn't, but this time, I already arranged everything for you two."

"Just for the two of us?" Kikyo's eye's widened. She could not believe her luck. The queen was making it all happen for her. She would be able to become queen of China- live in the palace with servants at her every beck and call and of course with a husband that she truly adored.

"Yes, just the two of you. I asked for a special meal to be prepared for you two tonight. Cherish the time that you have with him. He's been so busy and I don't know how many more times I can set you two up again."

Kikyo nodded knowingly. She was going to capture his heart and even if she couldn't the queen would be there for her. The queen loved her… and it would work to her advantage.

&

Inuyasha stopped by the kitchens to find Sango before heading to his study. "Sango?" he called.

"Here I am," Sango said as she stood up from behind one of the counters. Her hair was a mess and she was covered with scraps of vegetable peelings.

"I wanted to tell you that I talked to Suga this morning and he would like to talk to you in person. I'm going to be sending a carriage to his home for you at around noon so get ready and be prepared with what you're going to tell him."

Sango was overwhelmed with joy. She ran to Inuyasha and got to her knees. "Thank you, thank you." Tears of joy ran down her face.

"Get up, Sango." Inuyasha grabbed her arms to pull her up. "It was nothing. Don't worry about it," trying to sound like it was no big deal.

"Thank you," she said for the last time.

"I hope that Suga will be able to help you." Sango smiled at his generosity. She had only known Inuyasha for a short time and he was able to give her so much and she was sure with everyone else supporting her, her father will soon come out of this whole mess innocent.

&

Kagome was shown to a kitchen by one of the queen's servants. It was the biggest and cleanest kitchen that Kagome had ever been in. Ingredients were already laid out on the counter and four girls were already in aprons all ready to help her.

She walked around to the other side of the counter and looked at everything that she could use. Everything was there- all the meats and vegetables that she could possibly think of. Her fingers drummed on the counter. She wasn't sure what she would make for them to eat. It had to be something special. That's what the queen had told her. But she also wanted to make something that would remind Inuyasha of her.

"We're going to be making dumplings, fried rice, chicken, and fried fish." The girls looked at each other in confusion. The dishes that Kagome just mentioned were no where near formal, but the dishes were the ones that Inuyasha made for her or that she had made for him and they got to work.

&

Sango looked out the window of her carriage. She was heading out of the palace and to Suga's house. Her heart was fluttering and her stomach was in knots. She only prayed that Suga would take her seriously and help her father.

The carriage halted at the front of a gate. A guard quickly opened the gates and allowed them to enter. Sango walked into a big courtyard with a fountain in the center. Suga, knowing that she would be arriving, was waiting for her.

"Sango? I am right?"

"Yes, Mr. ..." Sango had never learned Suga's last name, she had always heard her father referring to him as Suga.

"Just call me Suga. I heard that your father was wrongfully arrested for corruption and that he might be at the palace now."

Sango nodded. "Our storage that is usually empty was filled with rice one morning. There were probably more than one hundred bags of it. Ximong, an official went by to our home and opened our storage. That very morning, my father was taken away. I asked for a trail, but Ximong was residing as judge and he would not even hear that my father was not guilty. I went in that night to rescue my father my father from prison, but he wasn't there. Kagome, one of my friends, had overheard that Ximong wanted to get rid of my father and that he had arranged something with one of his friends in the palace. So now I'm here."

Suga stoked his beard. Him and Mr. Matsuo were very good friends during their years studying together. "I will see what I can do. Is there any way that you can prove your father's innocence? During these times, rice is as valuable as gold. You have to understand that, and for one person to have so much…"

"My father is innocent!" Sango burst out.

"I know your father would never do such a thing, but I need proof to show everyone else that he is innocent." Suga told her calmly. It must be so hard for her to see her father be taken away he thought silently.

"No, I don't…"

Suga nodded sympathetically. "I'll try my best and I'll tell you any news that I get. For now, don't make any moves. Stay at the palace. Let me worry about it."

"Thank you for understanding and helping."

"It's my duty. Your father has helped me out before," he said wearily remembering something that had happened nineteen years ago.

&

Kikyo sat down at the table. Her heart was racing. Any second now, Inuyasha was going to come and sit across from her. There were three candles lit in the middle of the table and lanterns were strung above. The skies were clear and the sun was just setting beyond the horizon. It was just breath-taking. Everything seemed so perfect, that was until Inuyasha came.

He was unhappy to be there, and he was going to show it. "Hi," he said gruffly.

"Inuyasha!" Kikyo said with over enthusiasm. "How was your day? Isn't it beautiful right now? Just look at the sunset. Doesn't it get you to be all dreamy?"

"No, it actually doesn't."

"Well," she mustered up a smile, "let me tell you about my day."

"Sure," he rubbed his forehead. I can't wait till this is all over; if I am going to marry her then I might as well shot myself now, he thought.

"Today, I got to be with your mother and we talked about all sorts of things. It was just so pleasant. I wish you were there with us. She gave me these earrings too," Kikyo pulled her hair behind her ears to show him, "Aren't they pretty?"

"Yeah… they are. Where's the food? I'm getting hungry." The faster he finished eating the faster he would be able to get away from her.

Kikyo looked at him in disappointment. She wanted to be able to talk some more. "Bring out the food," she called to one of the servants.

In an instant, platters of food were set in front of them. The lids were lifted off of them at the same time and the sweet aroma of the food swept over them.

"The food looks delicious!" exclaimed Kikyo. Inuyasha stared at the platters. The food was nothing like what the chief would usually prepare from him. He got some fried rice and a piece of the chicken. After he had just put the first spoonful into his month he knew immediately who the chief was. It was Kagome.

&

Kagome stood behind a tree and looked at Inuyasha. The girl sitting across from him must be Kikyo. Kikyo was pretty, she thought. Her hair flowed from her shoulders and she was dressed so eloquently. It seemed like they were having a good time with each other. Inuyasha was smiling now. He was eating quickly and Kikyo was still talking.

Leaning her back on the tree, Kagome smiled. She wasn't jealous. She knew her place in society… and that was not going to be with Inuyasha.

A/N: Are my chapters going okay? I don't know why, but I seem to be worried about them. Like chapters 1-19, I thought that they sounded good, but now… it's getting into unknown territory.

Please review!


	23. Secrets to Never Tell

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you guys will like it. And thank you for reviewing and reading my story. I greatly appreciate it!

Chapter Twenty-three

Secrets to Never Tell

Inuyasha returned to his room late that night. Kikyo had thought of everything to get him to stay longer. Their words to each other were still playing back in his mind.

"_Kikyo, just give it up," he had said angrily. Kikyo looked at him, hurt written across her face. _

"_Inuyasha… why do you always treat me like this?"_

_He looked at her, already regretting what he had just said. "I think of you as my sister, Kikyo… but nothing more."_

_Tears were forming in her eyes. "What am I doing wrong? Tell me I'll change," she pleaded to him, grabbing his robe so he could not walk off._

_You're self-centered. All you want are expensive lavish things and servants by your side. Everything is done for you. You never think for yourself. You would never be able to be the queen that China needs. Inuyasha thought of all this, but couldn't bring himself to say it to her face. "I'm tired. Let go," he said rigidly. Kikyo immediately let go, standing back and seeing him go._

Shaking his head he got into bed. How he longed now for a normal life… just a commoner would be alright with him.

&

It was near one in the morning when Sesshomaru walked into the prison area held in the palace. His steps echoed on the hard stone floor. The prisoners roused to the sound, each yelling because of the disturbance.

Walking about half way down the narrow passage, he stopped. The man that was held in this cell was lying on his stomach, his hair covering his face completely.

"Wake up," Sesshomaru said callously. The man stirred, but didn't lift his face. "Wake up!" he said louder.

This time the man slowly got into a sitting position, his face still staring at the ground. "Show me your face, Mr. Matsuo."

Mr. Matsuo lifted his face. "What do you want, Sesshomaru?" he spat. "Why are you doing this for Ximong? You're going to get caught. You know that right? This is injustice and the law will make it right."

A smile spread across Sesshomaru's face. "We all have our reasons for doing things. I'm just not going to let you on the secret."

The two glared at one another. Each was powerful, each was clever. "Why did you come so late? So no one would be able to see that you are here? Are you scared of getting caught?" Mr. Matsuo daunted him.

"Oh, no. Me, scared of our emperor? No. That's not why I came late. If you didn't know, officials aren't allowed in here until dark. It helps to stop the prisoners from escaping, you see. Everyone in here is either very dangerous… or was very powerful once. They don't want either group being set loose. It could be very hazardous. I came tonight just to see how you were holding up and … to tell you that your daughter had _died_." With this last word, Sesshomaru turned to leave.

Shock swept through Mr. Matsuo. His daughter… Sango… dead. He couldn't believe his ears. How could she have? In the act of trying to save him? His voice stuck in his throat. He was unable to ask Sesshomaru how his daughter had died. Words that he needed to form a sentence eluded him. He laid his back on the cold wall, clutching his heart and letting out an ear shattering scream.

Sesshomaru walked briskly out of the prison. He had done what he had intended to do. Break all hope for Mr. Matsuo for escape- for justice. He remembered Ximong telling him that Sango had said that she was going to get her father out and that he should be carefully. And he had scoffed. He was not going to be terrorized by a girl.

&

Myoga shook Inuyasha to wake him. Today was going to be the day of the emperor's parade. The soldiers and the dancers were all lined up outside. Rows and rows of horses were arranged. Each was trained and was to march in straight ahead.

Inuyasha's carriage was the most magnificent piece of the whole parade. It was lined with gold and had ivory carvings on the sides. The horses that were to pull it were white stallions.

The emperor couldn't believe the day had come. He was to announce that he was emperor to his people. His robe gleamed in the sunlight as he walked out towards his carriage.

"Wait Myoga. I just remembered something," Inuyasha said quickly. He had to get Kagome. Since he would be going into the city, he would be able to help Kagome find her parents.

He hurried to the kitchens to get her. "Kagome."

She stood up from her crouched position. "Inuyasha…" She had never seen him in his emperor's robe. He looked so different- so much older and wiser.

"The parade is today. I want you to come and then I could help you find your parents after it is over. We could start by asking all the fabric shops."

Kagome smiled. It was all Inuyasha needed. She got the piece of cloth from her room and walked with Inuyasha to his carriage.

"You'll have to follow Myoga, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Kagome's eyes wandered up and down the long line of people. Everything looked just splendid. The moment after Inuyasha was set in his carriage, they began moving instantly.

Myoga and Kagome didn't have a horse or carriage to ride in and were left to walk in the back of the group. "You want to find your parents, don't you?" Myoga asked, startling Kagome.

"I guess I do." Her hand clutched the cloth even tighter.

Myoga scrunched his face, trying to find the right words. "I don't mean to get into your business… but I think that it is best for you and Inuyasha to know that you two will only be able to be friends."

Kagome knew that Myoga was just trying to help Inuyasha and she wasn't upset. She had thought about her feelings for awhile now and she had already come up with the same conclusion. He was emperor and she was a child that her parents had abandoned. "I know that Myoga. I'll talk to Inuyasha about it tonight."

"I'm glad that you understand," he sighed in relief.

&

They continued to walk in silence and finally they reached the gates of the city. People had anticipated his arrival and were standing on the sides of the streets in hope of getting a glimpse of the young emperor.

Inuyasha looked out of his small window. No one could possibly see his entire face. As the carriage passed, the people would all bow down to him. "Your highness," they all said in unison.

Up ahead, he heard a women cry out. "He's not a worthy emperor! I would never bow down to him." She was screaming at him.

The soldiers immediately subdued her, pushing her to the ground and back your kneel down to the emperor. Inuyasha couldn't understand why she would be yelling at him. He hadn't done anything major yet. But his father had. He had come and overthrown the last dynasty. Inuyasha swallowed hard. He was to have to gain the trust and loyalty of his people, and it was hard for him know that someone out there would always hate him.

He called over to the soldiers that were now holding the women. "Let her go," he commanded.

"You don't deserve what you have. Don't you see all these people starving?" She pointed to the people around her. All of them dropped their faces to the ground. Yet, Inuyasha did notice that all of them were dressed in rags and here he was in his gold carriage and a golden robe. "You have done nothing to help us. You live in your royal palace, ignorant of how our lives our and you call yourself an emperor." She spat to the ground and turned to leave.

Kagome looked at the carriage, hoping to catch a glimpse of Inuyasha. She wondered how he had taken this. The women couldn't blame Inuyasha for her life.

Inuyasha stared at the woman's back. He knew that what she had said could not be any truer. What had he done for his people? Nothing. Nothing at all. He had been worried about Sesshomaru and building a navy and getting back his men from the northern border, but he had nothing for the common people of China.

&

The parade soon ended and Inuyasha changed into common clothes. "Sorry that you had to walk." He said once he saw Kagome.

"It's alright. It was nice seeing the parade. And that woman…"

"She's right," he said frankly.

Kagome looked at him bewildered. "You don't mean that? You've been emperor for how long? A couple weeks? You can't make everyone's lives better. That is impossible."

"No, I can't make everyone's lives better, but I can at least try. I haven't been focusing on the welfare of the common people like I should have."

Kagome looked at him. Trying to study every part of his face. "You've changed, Inuyasha."

"Is that a good or bad thing?" he asked uncomfortably.

Kagome laughed at him. "It's good."

"Then let's go to those fabric shops." Inuyasha led Kagome into the biggest fabric shop in the city.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" a young lady asked them.

Kagome's hands stiffened. She gripped the cloth tighter and held it close. "I …" she began, but was unable to bring herself to finish.

"We were wondering if you have ever seen this type of cloth before," Inuyasha said for Kagome.

Kagome handed the cloth over to the lady and she shook her head. "This cloth seems awfully old. I don't think we carry that kind any more."

"But have you seen it before? Did you use to sell it?" Inuyasha pushed on.

The young lady thought carefully before answering, "No, I don't think so."

This same scene occurred in all of the following fabric shops. Everyone would shake their heads and Kagome's spirit dwindled with each passing shop.

"Don't give up hope," Inuyasha comforted. Kagome was trying not to show her feelings but she couldn't help it.

"Let's go back to the palace. I'm tired. No one has ever seen this cloth. Maybe it's just a lost cause."

"No, it isn't. Come on. There's another fabric shop down there." He pointed to a little shop at the end of the street.

"It's no use. They're just going to shake their head at us."

Inuyasha was not going to give up. He grabbed Kagome's hand and dragged her to the shop. "There is still hope," he told her as they approached the door.

"Sure, whatever you say." She pushed open the door and walked in.

The lady that was standing behind the counter was elderly. She looked about ten years older than the queen. Wrinkles creased her face and her grey hair was tied up into a bun. She greeted them warmly and Inuyasha asked her about the cloth. Kagome pulled it from behind her back and handed it to the woman.

The woman took the cloth. She studied it for a moment. "This cloth… it's so familiar. I might I have sold it before." She searched her memory. Then she remembered. The cloth dropped to the ground.

"Do you remember?" Kagome asked.

The women stared ahead. Her hands were shaking. "No… no…" she mutters. "I don't know anything." She quickly regains composure and picks up the cloth, handing it back to Kagome. "I just remembered something that I had to do today. I'm sorry. I don't know anything."

Kagome and Inuyasha exchange glances. "Please tell me if you do something. It means so much that I know," Kagome begged.

"I don't know anything, child." The woman looks at Kagome. She bites her lip. Her heart aches to tell her everything that she knew, but she knew that she just couldn't. She had promised to never tell.

"I'm begging you. If you can tell me… it would mean the world," Kagome pleaded again, "My parents left me on a doorstep with only this on me. I want to find them…"

The woman shook her head. "I don't know. Please, stop. I don't know anything." She was about to break down any second. This girl, why was she left on the doorstep? Things didn't fit. She wasn't supposed to be left on a doorstep. She was supposed to have a family. Not hers, but a mother and father nonetheless.

Maybe she was mistaken. The cloth, maybe it wasn't the same. But now that she had remembered she was sure of it. The little baby girl's face, the red cloth, she would never forget it. That night would always live with her.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Kagome finally said. "I'm sorry for pressuring you to tell me. It was very wrong of me." She turned to leave and Inuyasha followed her.

"She knows something, Kagome. She just wasn't telling you," he said as soon as they were outside.

Kagome sighed. "Maybe she has a reason for not telling me. It probably is really awful if she dropped the piece of cloth. Did you see how her hands were shaking? It was as if it was a really bad memory that she remembered."

Inuyasha nodded, agreeing with her. "Let's go get something to eat and then we'll head back to the palace."

&

They settled down in a nice looking restaurant. Inuyasha ordered and they sat silently- neither knowing what to say.

"So, who is Kikyo?" Kagome finally asked him.

"How do you know about Kikyo?" He eyed her curiously before answering her question.

"The queen talked about her with me," Kagome lied.

"She's just a friend. My mom makes her to be so much more. She keeps on setting us up. I really don't understand it."

"I see."

"What? Jealous?" Inuyasha laughs.

"NO!"

"Sure you're not. That's why you asked about her," he jokes.

Kagome, taking it seriously, "I am not jealous! I was just curious. Anyways, there can't be anything between us."

Her last sentence wiped Inuyasha's smile off of his face. "What do you mean, 'there can't be anything between us?' "

Kagome regretted saying it. She hadn't meant to put it in those words. "I just mean that… that we can't be anything further than friends," she finished.

"I wasn't planning on having you as my real wife." Inuyasha's eyes were as hard as stone. Her sentence had hurt him and now he had just hurt her.

"Now that we have things clear, we can eat." Kagome couldn't believe that he had said that. He didn't have any feelings for her after all. She picked up her chopstick and started shoving food in her mouth.

&

Inuyasha rented out a horse to ride back to the palace. He mounted gracefully and Kagome clumsily got on the back.

"The stars are pretty, huh?" she said trying to lighten their moods. There was no point at her being bitter with him. She already had established that she wasn't going to be anything more than friends before tonight.

"Yeah, the skies are so clear. I wish I could have more days like this. Without having to deal with my officials, without reading over papers. Just relaxing." He could sense that Kagome was trying to look past what they had discussed at the restaurant and he would try to forget it all as well.

Kagome's head rested on his shoulder. Her arms were wrapped around his waist. "Being royal doesn't mean you have everything then, does it?"

"I wish sometimes I wasn't. Then I wouldn't have all of China's problems. They would all be someone else's."

"You'll be a good emperor."

"I could only wish. There's just so much power lying in my hands. So many people want it… and so many would die in the attempt to get it."

Kagome didn't know what to say to it. Did someone want to take his before? Had they tried and failed?

They returned to the palace and Inuyasha walked Kagome to her room. "Good night," he said simply.

"Good night and thank you for helping me today."

"You're welcome. If you want, I could go back to the shop again with you. She knows something, Kagome. It might be all you need to know how your parents are."

Kagome merely nodded. Inuyasha walked off and Kagome stood outside to see him leave. Just as she was about to go inside, something caught her eye. It was Inuyasha's gold passport. It glinted in the moon's glow. She picked it up off of the ground where he had been standing.

It was dark and she didn't want to call out his name to get him to return. She quickly went inside and woke Miroku. "Where's Inuyasha's room?"

"Huh?" Miroku rubbed his eyes, trying to see who it was that woke him.

"Where's Inuyasha's room? He dropped something and I have to give it back to him."

"Oh, it's you Kagome. It's just the one on the right of the queen's."

"Thanks," and Kagome left.

The queen's quarters were easy to find and she made a right to get to Inuyasha's. The lights were already out in his room, but Kagome decided to just walk in and leave it on the table.

She quietly walked in, trying hard not to wake him if he was already asleep. She placed the passport on the middle table. Kagome looked over at Inuyasha's bed that was on the far side of the room. On the all of both sides of the room were windows. Kagome looked around the dark room and then noticed that in one of the windows there was a shadow of a man holding a sword up to his face.

Kagome screamed.

A/N: Okay, I was trying really hard to come up with a last sentence that I really didn't want to make it to complicated that it would defeat the meaning, so I thought simple would work. So who's the man? It's someone that has already showed up in the story before.

Please review! And thanks for reading!


	24. Revealed

A/N: Well, I hope that everyone is having a very good and busy summer. I like being busy, lol. So, here's the next chapter. It's not long, I might add more before I post. Hmm… interesting thought.

Thank you everyone for keeping up with my story and reading it and thank you for all your reviews. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Four

Revealed

The man looked through the window. He recognized the girl. A smile formed on his face. This was going to be easier than he thought, and this time he was going to get it right.

His sword was gleaming in the moonlight. It was positioned right in front of his face. He struck hard and glass shattered. Glass flew, hitting Kagome. She tried to duck and collapsed on the ground.

Inuyasha heard her second scream. He had just gotten into bed, but the day had worn him out and he had fallen into a deep sleep as soon as he had lain down. He got up quickly. It was dark around him and he had no idea what was going on. Instinctively, he grabbed his sword that was right beside his bedside.

The man now had already gotten himself through the window. He jumped down, landing only a couple feet away from Kagome. She tried to get up and make a run for it. But it was all too late.

The man pulled her up, placing his sword onto her throat. Kagome sensed that she had seen him from somewhere before. All she could see was his eyes. A black cloth covered the rest of face. She tried to pull away, elbowing him in the stomach. "Inuyasha!" she called out.

"Stay still or else…" His blade was pushing harder and harder onto her throat. She could feel drops of blood fall down her neck.

"Kagome! Don't move. Everything is going to be okay." Inuyasha spoke, standing right in front of them.

Kagome sighed in relief. Inuyasha's presence just made her feel so much safer.

"Inuyasha…" the man said, his voice sounded as if he was purring.

"Naraku." Inuyasha said immediately. He would never forget that voice. "What do you want?" His sword was still in his hand behind his back. He didn't want Naraku to know that he was armed.

"Oh, you must have to know what I want," he laughed slightly, "I want you. But I want you dead," he added.

"Let Kagome go." Inuyasha held his ground firmly. He was not going to let Naraku scare him, but in reality, his heart was racing uncontrollably.

"I can't do that. At least not yet." Naraku pulled Kagome closer towards him and his blade sunk deeper into her neck.

"Inuyasha, don't do anything stupid. I'm not worth it," Kagome said, tears rolling down her face from the pain.

"Shut up," Inuyasha said in fustration. He didn't want Naraku to hurt her. He wanted nothing to happen to Kagome.

"You have to escape and get help. Inuyasha, please listen," she pleaded again.

"Quiet. This is done of your matter girl." Naraku said threateningly. He didn't want the girl. She was bait and she was not going to talk Inuyasha to escaping.

"You have your empire. China needs you, don't do this for me," Kagome continued. She didn't want Inuyasha to die for her. She loved him, and no matter how much she had denied it, she did.

"Shut up, Kagome. I would not able to live any longer if you were dead. You know that? You mean the world to me and no one is going to take you away from me." Before anyone could react to what Inuyasha said, Inuyasha pulled out his sword and swung at Naraku. He slashed his arm, and Kagome fell to the floor.

Naraku quickly lifted his sword with his other arm and prevented Inuyasha from striking him a second time. Their swords clashed, each one putting all their strength in the battle.

The furniture in the room was knocked over causing a lot commotion. Soon soldiers were called, and they surrounded the building. Inuyasha heard them coming and yelled, while lifting his sword to keep from getting hit by Naraku. "Don't come in. Anyone who disobeys will be killed."

Inuyasha was finally able to wear out Naraku. His surprise attack had helped him. He was tired and his arm hurt. Their swords struck hard. Inuyasha was pushing down on his sword as Naraku pushed up from above his head. "You're never going to beat me," Naraku snarled at him. "This empire was meant to be mine. You're nothing. This empire will crumble under your feet, and you wouldn't even know it."

Putting all his strength into it, Naraku was able to push Inuyasha off.

Kagome had watched all this. She was scared. Naraku and Inuyasha seemed to match in strength. Neither one of them were able to inflict anything on the other.

"You know nothing about how I am and what I can do," Inuyasha breathed, trying to catch his breath.

"You're useless. Your father was the same. He only won because he tricked us. He had hid his army in the forest and attacked us by surprise in the night. I want you _dead_, Inuyasha." Naraku jumped forward, using all of his weight to try to stab Inuyasha. Luckily, Inuyasha held up his sword in time and deflected the attack.

Quickly, Naraku regained his balance and soon their swords were clashing again with little pauses in between.

Then something occurred to Kagome. She was going to help Inuyasha. Behind her was a shelf and she grabbed a heavy stone vase. Naraku's back was now facing her. She stood up and hit Naraku hard on the head.

At this moment, Inuyasha was able to finally place his sword on Naraku's neck.

"Kill me." Naraku said, knowing deep down that Inuyasha would not. He could not live knowing that Inuyasha had defeated him twice. "You are just like your father. You can't win anything fair and square." Naraku knew that he did not usually play by the rules either, but it still vexed him that both his father and himself and lost to trickery.

Inuyasha took a deep breath. He knew that he were to kill Naraku, he would never be haunted by him again. But then… he just couldn't bring himself to do it. A man, with so much hate towards him, should not ever be granted his forgiveness…

"Men! Come in here and take this intruder away. Lock him up and chain him." His men finally came into the room.

"You're going to regret not killing me now," Naraku said monotonously as he was taken away.

&

The men left after rearranging the place to make it look decent for the night.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked her after a doctor had come look at the two of them.

"Yeah. Are you alright?" She touched her bandage above his eyebrow.

"It's just a scratch." He took her hands and held them.

"You shouldn't have risked your life for me," Kagome said looking down at their hands.

Inuyasha shook his head. "It has happened twice now. You have been close to getting killed… and it's all because of me. I don't want anything to ever to happen to you. I wouldn't be able to go on living." His last sentence was soft and ever so sincere. It warmed Kagome's heart.

"But I wouldn't have been able to live if anything were to happen to you." She looked up at him. Her eyes were watery with tears. She was so happy that he was alive. During the whole time in which he had fought, she had never stopped worrying.

Inuyasha pulled her close to him and hugged her. Her head rested on his chest and he kissed her on top of the head.

She smiled up at him. His kiss felt warm and tingles ran through her entire body.

They each knew that they were more than friends. They had feelings for each other, they loved each other. And all these feelings that were bottled up for so long had come out so easily tonight. Kagome and Inuyasha stood in each others arms knowing that their future together would be a hard road traveled.

&

That night Suga walked into the prison in the palace. The prisoners yelled at him for waking them. Suga tried as hard as possible to make his steps soft, but it was nearly impossible on the stone ground.

He had already asked the guard where Mr. Matsuo was and walked briskly to his cell.

Mr. Matsuo looked worse than he had when Sesshomaru came. His cell was a mess and his hair was covered with straw. He looked absently at the metal bars in front of him; his eyes blood-shot red.

"Yang Matsuo?" Suga asked questionably. He didn't recognize his old friend. The man that looked blankly at him was in total disarray. The Yang that he remembered was ordered, handsome, and never lost his cool.

Yang didn't respond. He just looked blankly ahead, not even really paying much attention to Suga that was right in front of him.

"I'm Suga. Don't you remember me? We used to go to school together. I'm here to help you. Sango-"

At the mention of Sango, Yang started throwing his fists, hitting them hard on the stone floor. "SHE'S DEAD! SHE'S DEAD! AND ALL BECAUSE OF WHO? BECAUSE OF ME! SHE'S DEAD. MY OWN DAUGHTER. DEAD!"

Suga didn't understand what he was saying. Sango had just come to see him. "Yang, listen to me."

"SANGO'S DEAD! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" He screamed at the top of lungs. The prisoners were all now yelling and throwing food at him to make him stop. Yang was completely going crazy.

"YANG!" Suga yelled back, finally getting his attention. "Sango isn't dead. I just met her. She's fine. She wants me to find you and help you get out of here."

Yang looked at him in silence. His head was tilted to one side. "No…" he said softly, "no… you're lying, Suga. Sango is dead because of me," He said this solemnly.

"You have to trust me. Sango isn't dead. Who told you she was dead?"

"Sesshomaru."

Suga was getting more and more confused. Why did Sesshomaru talk to Yang? "Sesshomaru?"

"He worked with Ximong to frame me. I'm sorry for how I acted before. I just completely lost it when I found out that Sango had died," Yang said slowly, he was finally regaining himself, "I absolutely broke down. She's fine, right?" asking again to make sure.

"Yes, I guarantee it. She's in the palace. Now we have to figure out a way to get you out of here, without trying to break out."

For the rest of night Suga and Yang discussed their ideas quietly, making sure no one was going to overhear their plan. By sunrise, they finally figured it out. Yang was going to get out of here and return to his city and return to his position as judge, and his accusers were not going to get away with it.

&

The women, Mai Sato, from the fabric shop tossed and turned in her sleep. Whenever she would fall asleep the same nightmare would come to haunt her. Even lying awake, Mai couldn't get what had happened nineteen years ago out of her head. It was her fault she thought. The girl that met her today… she longed for her parents and she had turned her away. Was it right of her? She shook her head furiously. No, the girl was supposed have a family. The girl that came to here today just couldn't be the one. She just couldn't be.

"_Hurry! Get wet cloths and warm water." She was directing all the servants around the queen's bedroom. Late in the evening, the queen had gone into labor and the new prince or princess was soon to be born. _

_The queen was screaming out in pain and she held her hand, trying to help. The doctor exclaimed, "I see its head, your highness. Just push a little more. There you go," He was holding the baby in his arms already. _

_Sweat covered the queen's forehead. She laid her head back down on the pillow in relief. "Is it a boy or girl," she breathed, closing her eyes, waiting for the answer.. _

_The doctor froze at the question. "You have given birth to…" he stumbled at the words, "a princess."_

_Shock swept over the queen. She couldn't believe. A girl. It was a girl. Her fate was sealed. She would either be forgotten or killed. Her heart ached. How she wanted a boy. In any other situation, she would be holding her baby, regardless if it was a boy and girl and love her baby with all her heart, but the emperor demanded a boy. He needed an heir._

_Mai took the baby in her arms. She rocked her back and forth sadly. The baby was so beautiful. She was perfect. Mai took the baby over to the queen and placed her in the queen's arms. _

"_You are very blessed."_

_The queen looked at her baby, tears falling from her face. "If only you were a boy, your father would love you too."_

_Then Mai remembered something. She leaned over and whispered, "Suga's wife, I heard just went into labor…"_

_The queen jerked away from her. What was she suggesting? "You are saying that… I switch babies with her if she gave birth to a son?"_

_Mai remained silent. She didn't want to see her queen be killed. _

_After thinking about the idea, the queen decided that she had to do it. Suga's family was well off and would comply with her offer. The queen called one of her guards over and told him about her plans. _

_The guard returned quickly; Suga's wife had given birth to a boy. The baby girl was wrapped in a red blanket, still in the queen's arms. "I love you. But this is the only way if we are both going to survive." She took one of the baby's arms and bit her, leaving the baby wailing. The guard took the child away and the queen was left, crying in her bed. _

By morning, Mai had finally came up with her resolution. If the girl was to return to her shop, she would check if she had the set of teeth marks and if she did than she would tell her everything that she possibly knew. She had made her mistake years ago and regretted that deeply, and the only way for her to feel alright at heart would be for her to help the girl out now.

&

Kagome and slept well that night. Even as she woke in her bed she could remember Inuyasha's arms around her. It had felt so warm and so caring.

Lin marched into the dormitories, looking for Kagome. "Wake up! Don't think that the queen is being friendly with you, that you don't have to do any work around here," Lin said angrily.

"Sorry," Kagome replied with a smile. Nothing was going to ruin her mood. "I'll get to work right away."

"You better." Her voice didn't even have a sign kindness in it.

Kagome worked all morning with Sango and Miroku by her side. They didn't get much of a chance to talk with Lin watching over them, and by the afternoon they were all sent to refill the tea.

Walking slowly, Kagome stepped into the last room that she had to go to. As she approached, she heard voices- two female voices mingling.

"Your highness," she said bowing her head to the ground, she noticed that Kikyo was sitting by the queen.

"Kagome, it's so nice to see you. Get up now." The queen held her arms and pulled her up into a standing position. "You never got to meet Kikyo, did you Kagome?"

"No, I didn't…" Kagome inverted her attention over to the young lady that was seated. Kikyo was beautiful. She looked royal. Her back was straight and her hands were placed neatly in her lap.

"Oh, Kagome!" she squealed. "You're the one that prepared those wonderful dishes for me and Inuyasha the other night. They were so delicious!"

"Thank you. I'm glad that you liked them."

Kikyo smiled at her. "You seem so nice! The queen never judges anyone wrong."

"I can only hope so," the queen said, "Tomorrow morning I was planning on going up to the mountains to the temple. Would you two want to join me? I've been there so many times. It's just so beautiful and the scène is just breath-taking from that high up."

"Oh, your highness, it would be my pleasure." Kikyo got up and hugged the queen. The queen was like a second mother to Kikyo. She looked after her and planned things that they would be able to spend more time with each other.

"I would love to," Kagome said. She could not have said anything otherwise, but she wanted to go as well. And at the temple, she knew exactly what she would ask about.

&

That night, Inuyasha met Kagome out by the bridge. He had sent Myoga earlier with a note asking Kagome to come out there.

He had thought about the lady from the fabric shop all day long. Now he wanted to find Kagome's parents probably just as much as Kagome wanted too. Inuyasha wanted to go back there and get the truth out of her.

He came to the bridge and Kagome was nowhere in sight. He sat down, throwing rocks into the water below, waiting for her.

She came soon after, she looked tired. Lin had made her work extra late for not waking up at the right time.

"Inuyasha," her voice was soft and cheery, "did you wait long? I had to do the rest of the dishes."

"No, I didn't. You look so tired, Kagome." He wished he could let her relax and not have to work for her stay at the palace.

"I'm alright," she sat next to him, her body so close to his. "Did you have any news of anything for me?"

"I wanted to ask you… if you wanted to go back to that fabric shop."

There was silence. Kagome had been thinking about this, and she didn't know what she wanted to do exactly. "I don't know… if we come again, I don't know if she's going to even tell us. You saw how shaken up she was. I just don't know if I could handle such a secret."

Inuyasha nodded. "But we could at least try again. I think you should know about it… it's your family. I don't want you to regret it later on not knowing."

"That true," Kagome smiled, "Whenever you have time we'll go. I promise."

"Okay." And he pulled her up and they walked back to her dormitories.

&

Kikyo had stayed overnight at the palace so she could leave with the queen early the next day. She turned in her bed restlessly. The bed just wasn't the same as hers back home, and she could not fall asleep.

Slowly, Kikyo got up from her bed. She decided that she needed a little bit of fresh air before she would try to fall asleep again.

The air was crisp as she stood just outside of her room. She noticed some lights a little ways ahead and decided to walk towards it. She remembered that just up ahead was the bridge- her favorite place in the palace.

Kikyo had walked a bit and heard some voices. 'Who was still up this late?' she thought.

She hid behind a tree. She didn't want to get caught wandering around the palace in the middle of the night. Kikyo peered out to see how the people were.

To her surprise, she saw Inuyasha holding Kagome in his arms. "Good night, Kagome," he said to her softly, but loud enough for Kikyo to hear.

Pain shot through Kikyo. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Inuyasha and Kagome. The look in his eyes. He had never looked at her that way. She had always dreamed of Inuyasha loving her… her knees started to buckle under her and she had to place her hand on the tree to keep from falling. But she couldn't let them get away with this. Kagome was nothing but a servant.

Kagome was just walking through the door when Kikyo appeared from behind the tree.

A/N: Kikyo is not going to let Inuyasha get away with this… or Kagome either for that fact. And finally, Inuyasha and Kagome are together… but there will be other obstacles that fall their way.

Thanks for reading and show the love and review!


	25. A Missing Piece of the Puzzle

A/N: The summer is in full swing now. And it is actually summer now, not just spring (June 21). I had a rough time with this chapter, so that's why there was a delay (plus I was lazy, but let's not dwell on that point).

Thank you for the all of the reviews and people that have been reading this and I just don't know, thank you too. Enjoy!

OMG! Fanfiction is not letting me update. So… I don't know when I possibly get to do it, so this time it's not my fault. Would have updated 6/20/06…

Chapter Twenty-Five

A Missing Piece of the Puzzle

Kagome whirled around, hearing the loud footsteps suddenly. She looked right into Kikyo's eyes. They burned, as if Kikyo was about to transform into a demon and go after her.

Kikyo stared Kagome down, looking into her soft eyes. Her heart was racing and aching. She wanted to kill someone right now. Jealousy blazed inside her. "Inuyasha," she tried to say sweetly, but it came out angered and scolding.

"Kikyo, I didn't know you were still here in the palace," Inuyasha said confused. Kikyo never would spend the night over in the palace… and suddenly seeing her made him very uncomfortable.

"What are you two doing here so late? I didn't know you two were so… _close_." Her last word came out vehemently.

Kagome stood there, unable to speak. Words stuck in her throat. Kikyo kept looking from her to Inuyasha intently, questioning them. "Kagome just started working here and I met her by coincidence," Inuyasha said smoothly; he was not going to let Kikyo scare him.

"Really? I would have thought that you two had something going on by the way you were holding her in your arms, Inuyasha." Kikyo smiled. She had got them where she wanted them.

Instantly, Kagome turned to Inuyasha with a worried glance. She didn't know what Kikyo was trying to get to, but it did not seem good.

Inuyasha saw Kagome's expression. He had thought that Kikyo hadn't seen them together that way. "It's none of your business, Kikyo," he said firmly, "You better get back to your room. It's late."

Kikyo took a couple of steps closer to him. Her shoulders were back and she stood tall and unwavering. "I think it has a lot to do with me," she said as she leaned her face close to Inuyasha, saying the words softly to him, "We're going to get married and I don't want you to be with a servant."

At this, Inuyasha inched even closer to Kikyo's face. "I'm going to say this one more time; it's none of your business. And you better get the idea that I'm going to be your husband out of your head. So get back to your room before someone sees you out this late."

Out of nowhere, Kikyo breaks out laughing. How could this be happening to her? She was Kikyo. She got everything and whatever she did not have handed to her, she always had her ways for it to become hers.

"Don't try to scare me Inuyasha. Because I could do much worse."

He had no idea what she meant. This conversation was just pointless to him. "Kikyo, what do you mean by that. You know that you are threatening the emperor, right?" he said heatedly.

But Kikyo looked unalarmed. She seemed invincible. The burning inside her had now smoldered a bit. She was going to let it all out. "I could accidentally, you know… let it slip to the queen that you two were _seeing_ each other." She looked at Kagome.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said worryingly.

He looked at her, "Don't get into this," he turned back to Kikyo, "You don't have any proof, Kikyo. Don't try to pull anything over my mother."

However, Kikyo knew for sure that the queen was going to believe her. She remembered clearly that when they were young, the queen would always seem to love her more than Inuyasha. Still today, she didn't understand the reason for this love, but right now it was going to work to her advantage. "So, it would be okay if I tell her then?"

"Look Kikyo," he scratched the back of his head, showing his frustration, "You can go and tell the queen for all I care. I was going to tell her myself. I want to marry Kagome."

Everyone was stunned, including Inuyasha. Had he just said that? What on earth was he thinking? Did he truly mean that? He wanted to marry her… Well, it wasn't the first time he said it, but this time… he meant it.

Kagome stood frozen. She had thought that he would deny that they even knew each other… but he hadn't. He had said that he wanted to marry her… for real. Not just to help her... She wanted to instantly go over to him and wrap her arms around him, but it didn't seem like the appropriate time.

Her expression changed. Kikyo was not so sure of herself anymore and her face showed just that. She wasn't smiling smugly, like she had a few seconds ago. "What did just say, Inuyasha?" she asked, almost in a whisper.

"You heard me the first time, Kikyo," he sounded confident.

Kikyo felt tears forming in her eyes. She forced herself to hold them back and not let her hurt feelings show. "Well, then. I have only one thing to say to you. It isn't going to happen. Never… on my life, Inuyasha."

She spun on her heel, walking back to her room. A trail of tears followed her.

&

Inuyasha watched her go. Her robe swayed in the wind slightly, and she disappeared into the darkness.

Remembering that he was not alone, he turned to Kagome. She was still standing in the same exact spot. Kagome didn't seem to notice his stare. Her mind was miles away.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha took her hands and brushed the hair from her face. She looked at him, startled.

"I didn't think that you would… you would… want to _marry_ me…" her voice trailed off.

He laughed. "It's not like that it is the first time I've said it to you. But this time, I mean it." His voice was warm and sincere. "You have taught me so many things, more than you will ever know. And… gosh, do I sound all mushy."

This time, Kagome laughed at him. Then she added seriously, "But what Kikyo said, is she really going to tell the queen?"

"I don't know. But that's not what matters right now. I would be telling the queen anyways," he paused, thinking about what to say next. He decided to get now on one knee.

He looked up at Kagome. She was gorgeous in the moonlight. "Kagome, will you marry me?"

Silence. Kagome didn't know what to say. This whole time she had been going over what Inuyasha had said. Him and her… together as a couple. As husband and wife. As emperor and queen. It was just all too much for her. Her mind was spinning.

Inuyasha waited for her response.

Finally, Kagome looked down at him and said, "Inuyasha… I can't."

"What!" he looked bewildered. He got quickly up from his knees. He could understand why she would say no. Was it because of Kikyo?

"I'm sorry." Tears were falling from her face, and she quickly wiped them away to try to keep her composure. "It wouldn't work out, Inuyasha. You're the emperor. You have to remember that."

"I remember that all right!" his tone rising.

"You can't do this. Kikyo is right. No matter how you look at it, I'm still going to be a servant. I'm not suited for marry you. We shouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. Myoga even warned me. And I knew… and still… I let it all happen. Now we're just going to both get hurt more."

Inuyasha scratched the back of his head in frustration. "Kagome, it doesn't matter. All of that stuff doesn't matter. You matter…" he let this last part linger.

"I only wish it was that easy."

"I'm emperor and I want you to be the queen. Will you marry me, Kagome?" He looked at her pleadingly.

"Inuyasha, don't make me say it again." She pulled her hands out of his. "We can't. It's not just about me and you. It'll be everyone, and everyone will not agree to it."

"Who cares about everyone? It has nothing to do with them." He knew that she was right, but he said it anyways. All the lords and officials would be against it. His own mother would probably be the first one to be against it.

Kagome shook her head. She was trying to get all this through to him, and he was not even taking it seriously. "It should. You're the emperor of China. China matters more. More than me."

She turned her back to him ready to leave. Tears were flooding her eyes and blurring her vision. Even her voice wasn't steady.

"Kagome, don't go." He pulled her around, making her face him. "Promise me you'll think about it and give me your final answer tomorrow. Okay?" he told her softly.

"I already told you." She would have collapsed to the ground if it wasn't for Inuyasha holding her arms.

"Just think it over again." He wiped the tears from her face. It hurt him to see her so distressed.

"Let go of me," she said to the ground, not even looking up at him.

He let her go and saw she walk into her room. He let out a deep sigh. What was happening to him? He seriously did not know. He just wanted them to be together… but it seemed that everything was against them.

&

Kikyo didn't get any sleep that night. Throughout the entire night, her thoughts had bothered her. What was she going to do? What was going to happen next? And what was this Kagome girl like? How she wanted to just… to just… get rid of her.

She got up as soon as the sun rose and made her way to the queen's quarters. There were two servants standing outside the front door.

"Can I go inside?" she asked impatiently.

"No, I'm sorry Miss Kikyo. We were given orders from the queen to let no one bother her at all," one of the girls replied.

"Now why is that?" She was tapping her foot edgily.

"She wants to have total peace to be able to pray. The queen also says that she will be riding in a separate carriage to avoid any disturbances, and you will be riding with Kagome."

How could this happen? The day that she needed to talk to the queen, she was in deep prayer.

&

Kikyo soon found herself sitting across from Kagome. She looked tired, just like Kikyo did.

Once their carriage was moving Kikyo asked, "So, Kagome… how did you ever capture Inuyasha's heart?"

"Kikyo… please don't," Kagome didn't want to have this conversation.

"Oh, no. I want to know. You're a servant, and yet you end up having the emperor falling in love with you."

There was silence.

"You're nothing. You don't have money. You don't have the reputation. You are a servant, and you should know you're place."

Still Kagome didn't respond.

"I bet your parents…"

Kikyo didn't get a chance to finish. Kagome cut in, "You can bash me all you want, but don't you dare bash my parents." She didn't know why these words were coming from her mouth. Her parents that had left her… and she was now defending them.

"I can say whatever I want about you girl. Don't think that Inuyasha loves you makes you safe. You're far from it," Kikyo retaliated immediately.

Folding her arms across her chest, Kagome sucked in a deep breath. "It would a shame for all of China to have you as their queen… and for Inuyasha to have you as his wife." Did that just come out of her mouth? Kagome didn't know how she could say such horrid things.

At this, Kikyo almost launched herself on top of Kagome, but just in time, she held herself back. "You're going to regret that."

She called to the driver that halted the carriage. "Get out and walk," she didn't even look at Kagome.

Kagome was happy to get out of the carriage and walk. Something odd had overcome her in the carriage to have said that to Kikyo, and she some fresh air with no one around would do her good.

&

The monks of the temple had a special ceremony for the queen. The smell of incenses was in the air. Kagome was on her knees on the far side of the room. She didn't want to bother anyone and didn't want anyone bothering her.

"Please, tell me what I should do. Everything is just a mess now. I want to marry him, Inuyasha, but I know better than to do so. Please, give me the strength to endure the days that will come and help me make the right decisions. Thank you." She bowed her head to the ground, and then looked up at the great Buddha before her. Had he heard what she said? She didn't know.

The queen was still in the center of the room on her knees when Kagome was finished. The monks stood in the front reading. Kikyo was to the queen's left, also praying.

As soon it was over, Kikyo quickly took the queen to a corner of the room. Kagome wondered if she should stop Kikyo, but decided to do nothing and just walk out of the temple.

&

"Your highness, I was something very important to tell you," she said, her voice filled with urgency.

"Kikyo, my darling. Can't you wait till we get back to the palace?'' the queen asked taken aback with her pressure.

"No, I have to tell you now. It has to do with Inuyasha."

"What about Inuyasha?" The queen was fully listening now.

"He… I… I saw him last night… with Kagome."

"He knows Kagome? Well, that's quite alright. She's a lovely girl."

Kikyo shook her head. "No, she isn't. Inuyasha… told me that he wanted to marry her."

The queen went pale. "That's ridiculous."

"You have to believe me. I'm not making this up."

"Inuyasha told you that? Why?" She just couldn't understand. Inuyasha had to be more sensible then this.

"It's a long story," she didn't want to go into the details; "You have to do something."

"Yes, yes. Of course." The queen turned from her. Nodding and muttering to herself.

"You aren't going to let him, right?" Kikyo said, catching up to her.

"Absolutely not. I can't believe it. He's going to marry you, my dear. You're the one that will be my daughter-in-law. I will see to it," the queen made her way outside, spotting Kagome at once. "Kagome!"

"Your highness," she said weakly.

The three got into a carriage to the horses started to take them back to the palace. The queen and Kikyo sat on one side and Kagome sat on the other, looking at the floor, rather than at them.

"I have something that I would like you to make more clear to me, Kagome," the queen finally said, "I have heard that… Inuyasha has wanted to marry you, am I correct?"

She nodded.

"Now, my dear. From the moment I saw you, I knew there was a connection between us and you have proved yourself to be very well mannered and talented. Whatever that is between you and Inuyasha, I hope you will put an end to. You know that there is no way your relationship would work. Everyone has their place in society. I hope you understand that," the queen sounded so sympathetic.

"I know that."

"So you will not allow your relationship to go any further?"

"Yes." As she said this, it felt as if her heart was breaking.

"I'm glad you understand." No one said anything more for the remaining trip, but Kikyo wanted too. Yet, she kept it all inside her. Her feelings of hatred towards Kagome. She was not satisfied with Kagome's answers. As long as Kagome was around… Inuyasha would continue to love her… and never herself.

&

Suga sent a short letter to Sango in the morning and had asked her to leave the palace with her friends and come to his home. He wanted her there so she would be able to help him release Yang.

Sango and Miroku packed all morning and waited for Kagome to return before they would leave. Kagome returned at noon looking dreary.

"Is anything wrong, Kagome?" Miroku asked her.

"I'm fine." She replied, trying to muster up a smile.

"Everything is not fine. What happened?" Sango asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. Trust me," she looked at the two of them that were both shaking their heads at her. "Why are you all packed up?" Hoping to change the subject.

"Oh, right. We're going to be going to Suga's place. He has met with my father last night, and he says that he has come up with a plan to get him out, but he needs my help, so it'll be easier if I stayed there."

"We can just leave?" Kagome wondered.

"Inuyasha said it was fine and he told me to give you this." Sango handed her a folded piece of paper.

She unfolded it, sighing. He should remember that she couldn't read, but to her surprise, instead of words, there were pictures.

It showed two people. One was a guy and one was girl. It probably was them. He drew a bridge and there was moon at the top of the page. He wanted to meet her there tonight.

She didn't know if she should go or not. Last night, she had given him a very clear answer… yet he had not accepted it.

Kagome refolded the note and shoved it in her pocket, grabbed her bags and headed out the door for Suga's place.

&

Michiko walked into an old fabric shop. She had gone to this same shop for a little less than twenty years. The women that owned the shop was one of her close friends.

"Good afternoon, Mai."

"Good afternoon, Michiko. I just got a new type of cloth in yesterday. Would you like to see it?"

Michiko nodded and purchased a couple meters of the fabric. She was about to grab the handle on the door to leave, before Mai stopped her.

"Michiko, I have something that I want to get straight," the old woman's voice was shaking slightly, worried if she had made the right choice in discussing the matter with Michiko.

"What is it?" raising an eyebrow.

"Do you remember, nineteen years ago… when the queen gave birth?"

Michiko chuckled. How could she ever forget? "Of course I remember. Why are you bringing this up?"

Mai hesitated before continuing on. "There was a girl that came by a few days ago. She showed me a piece of cloth… the exact same piece that the baby had wrapped around her."

"That's impossible," she said, a little too fast. "You know what happened. You have even seen her. Whoever came in…. must be someone else."

She nodded slowly.

"Well, I have to be going now," Michiko smiled and quickly exited. How could this be? The girl that nineteen years ago she had left on a doorstep was coming back to haunt her.

A/N: Wow, finally an ending to this chapter. Hope you liked it.


	26. The Silver Dagger

A/N: Thank you everyone for reading my story and reviewing. I'm truly touched by every review. Haven't gotten one that says anything bad, so I'm very happy! Now, if you do have something bad to say, just say it in your head, but I do like constructive criticism. Is everything clear and understandable? It obviously is to me because I know what is going on, but it might be different to you guys. I hope that in the end all the pieces do fit together and everything will be solved clearly. So read and enjoy and then review!

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Silver Dagger

Kikyo was pacing back and forth in the front room of her home, waiting for her mother. She had not been able to talk about this to anyone. She wanted to have someone that would be able to understand her and help her. She felt as if she was drowning with all of her emotions going on at once inside her.

What could she do? What should she do? Should she even do anything? Yes, that was one thing that she knew. She had to do something. Kikyo was not the type of person of sit back and let things take its course; she had to be in control.

"Kikyo," Michiko said as she saw her daughter looking blankly ahead of her.

"Mother, I've been waiting for you," Kikyo paused, "It's about Inuyasha."

Michiko felt shivers. Her son, Inuyasha. How could have things gone so wrong? She wanted to shove the memories away from her, but they had been haunting her for nineteen years, and they seem even more alive today. "What about Inuyasha, Kikyo?" Michiko said with all her mustered calmness.

"The other night, I saw him with a servant. They seem to have something between them," every word that came out of her mouth pained her so, "I have already told the queen of this and the girl says that she will end their relationship. But… Inuyasha had even said that he wanted to marry her," at this Kikyo broke down.

"My dear," her mother soothed her. "It's going to be okay. Inuyasha should see how much you love him. He should know that _you_ are the one for him, the _only_ one for him."

Kikyo nodded her head slowly. "That Kagome is nothing. She's just a servant. I don't know what Inuyasha sees in her."

"Do you know that this Kagome girl will end their relationship? If she has the emperor in love with her, would she want to give it up?" Michiko asked quizzically.

Kikyo lightened up. Her mother had thought exactly what she had thought about the issue. "But what can I do?"

"How far will you go for love?" she asked Kikyo darkly.

Her daughter remained silent.

"It is up to you, Kikyo. A mother can only help you with so many things in life, and this is one of the things that I can't really help you with." Michiko studied Kikyo over. She was strong and beautiful. Everything that an emperor would look for in a wife, just not Inuyasha.

&

Suga met them at the front gate to let them in. "Sango, we meet again," he told her brightly as she was getting on of the carriage.

"Thank you, Suga. I don't know how I can ever be able to repay you. You have none so much for our family."

"No, no. Your father and I have been long friends. It is the very least I can do for a friend in trouble," he turned his attention to the other two people that had gotten out of the carriage, "And who are these people?"

"This is Kagome, my friend, and Miroku-"

"Her soon to be husband," Miroku added for her.

Suga chuckled as Sango elbowed him. "Come on in, we have some things to discuss."

Michiko was heading out of the room as Kagome was entering. She looked at the girl and tripped on raised piece of wood on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked as she stooped down to help the woman up.

"I'm … fine," Michiko said shaking. She didn't know what got into her today. The moment she saw Kagome, it was as if she had seen a ghost.

"Are you alright, Michiko?" Suga asked, when he noticed her on the ground.

"I'm okay. Who are these people?" she asked her husband almost incredulously.

He told her about Yang and how Sango was going to be staying with them with her friends just until he was released. Michiko only nodded absentmindedly and left.

Kikyo spotted Kagome when her mother had fallen. She couldn't understand what had gotten into her mother to make her trip like that. Her face was pale; it almost seemed like she had seen a ghost. "Kagome…" she hissed, "What do you think doing here- at my house?"

"Kikyo? I… I'm staying here. Your father…" Kagome didn't get the chance to finish her sentence since Kikyo left the room.

"Well, just have a seat now," Suga said wondering about his wife's reactions to his guests, he had not noticed that Kikyo was in the room when they arrived.

"You have a way to get my father out of jail?" Sango asked intently.

He nodded. "Your father and have worked up a plan, but for the judges at the palace to believe us, I need you to go back to your city and retrieve some evidence for us."

"What kind of evidence?" Miroku asked.

"If Ximong is the actually behind it, we suspect that he is also working with Sesshomaru. You have to sneak into his house and find any letters or paperwork between them. You should also try to find some papers indicating how Ximong had ended up with all those bags of rice. Also, the rice that was put into your storage is probably taken away by now. See what it is done with. I'm going to try to see if I can find anything from Sesshomaru here."

Sango gulped, digesting all of the information. "I will get the evidence right away. If I leave now, I'll be able to get there a little past nightfall."

"Yes, we need it as soon as we can. I would like for you to at least to stay for some early dinner though."

"No, I should be on my way," Sango stood up, already to leave.

"I understand."

Sango looked at Miroku and Kagome, waiting for their reaction. "I'm going with you of course. Wherever you may go, I'll be right alongside to protect you." He smiled at her and she just rolled her eyes.

"Sango… I would go… but I think that I still have some unfinished business to attend to. I'm sorry."

"Don't say that, Kagome. You have done more for me than I could have ever asked for. You know what you need to do tonight. Good bye, Suga and thank you so much for everything."

"Travel safe and be careful. I don't want you to get caught or hurt," he told her as he waved good bye.

With that, Sango and Miroku left. Suga turned to Kagome; he really hadn't gotten the chance to know her. "So you are Kagome."

"Yes," she responded.

"You are a true friend to Sango to travel with her and help her through all of this."

"I really wasn't much help, not as much as you have been to her."

"Oh, no," he shook his head, "Well, why don't I have the servants bring out dinner and you can meet my wife and daughter. I think she should be around your age. You might get along."

Kagome smiled weakly. No matter how she wanted to civil around Kikyo, it just would never happen.

&

The four of them sat around the eloquent dinner table. Food was placed in front of them and for awhile they ate in silence until Suga tried to start a conversation.

"Well, Kagome. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

Kagome laid her chopsticks down on her plate. "I came from the same city as Sango, just a bit south of here. I've grown up with… my aunt. She owns a restaurant. It had gone into some trouble this year, but luckily a kind man had helped us out."

"A restaurant?" Michiko asked her. How could this be? Was it just a coincidence? She had to find out.

A little taken aback by the question, Kagome explained. "Yes, we own a small restaurant and there are rooms on the top of the building where we rent out of travelers."

"And you said you live with your aunt? What about your parents?"

Kagome looked at her, wondering why she was asking her such questions and she wasn't sure if she wanted to share with them how her parents had left her, but she saw no other choice. "My parents had left me on the doorstep of Kaede's, my aunt's, restaurant. I grew up thinking that she was real aunt and that my parents had passed away. It was only until recently that I found out the truth."

Michiko's face turned white. "I'm sorry to hear that. I have to excuse myself. I just felt… really sick." She stumbled out of her chair and walked cautiously out of the dining area.

"I'm sorry, Kagome. I don't know why she is acting like this. It's just not like herself." Suga watched his wife nervously.

Yet, Suga did understand. Kagome was left there none another than by his own wife. It pained him to see the princess of China in front of him. How she had suffered all those years. How she had worked and had not had enough money. And he had not done enough to stop his wife from committing such an act.

&

Dinner was soon finished in more awkwardness. Kikyo kept staring daggers at Kagome and Suga tried to suppress his emotions and keep the conversation light.

A servant showed Kagome to her room. Once she was finally alone, she took out the note that Inuyasha to left for her. "Should I go?" she said aloud to the note.

She didn't want to be faced with the question again. Kagome didn't know if she would be strong enough to refuse Inuyasha again. Her heart longed for him- to be with him, to grow old with him. Still, her mind told her otherwise. She couldn't be his wife. She was… just a waitress… a servant. Unfit to be with the emperor.

Kagome sighed at the drawing. She folded it and got up to see him.

&

After asking Suga for a carriage, Kagome left. Kikyo had overheard their conversation and was going to follow Kagome.

She went back to her room to grab a shawl to wrap over her body and then also slid something silver under her clothes. Without thinking too much about what was going to happen, Kikyo rushed out to grab a horse from the stables.

&

"Mother, what do you mean I can't marry Kagome?" Inuyasha nearly yelled at the queen. It was just after his meeting that Myoga had told him that the queen wanted to see him urgently.

"Inuyasha, how could you even think of getting into a relationship with her? She is a servant," the queen responded promptly.

The emperor grabbed at his hair, wanting to pull it out. "What does it matter if she is a servant? She's … everything I could ever ask for in a wife. She has made me see so many things that I didn't before I met her," his tone softened at the thought of describing her.

"You have to listen to me. You can't marry her. It just wouldn't work out," she sounded exasperated.

"I'm marrying her, not you. You can't tell me ho I can or cannot marry. It's my decision!"

"Inuyasha, I am your mother and I do have the right to say who you do and do not get to marry. Understand?" the queen screamed at her son.

"No, I don't. Why would it be wrong? Because she's not royal enough? Is that it?" he stared at his mother long and hard, waiting to see what she would said in return.

The queen took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm sorry to say, but she isn't suited for you."

"So if she was Suga's daughter or Sesshomaru's daughter or any of the officials' daughters, it would be okay? Things shouldn't work this way."

"You can't marry a servant. Her blood… it's wouldn't be right for her to carry the next emperor."

Inuyasha looked at his mother, fuming.

&

Kagome waited at the bridge for Inuyasha. She had gotten there a bit early since the moon was still not out yet. Kikyo got there just a few minutes behind Kagome and was hiding behind a tree.

After some thought, Kikyo decided to make her move. "Kagome!"

Kagome whirled around, looking quite startled. "Kikyo, what are you doing here?"

"I think that's a better question for me to ask you."

"I'm here to see Inuyasha…"

Kikyo slapped her hard. "You whore! You're still trying to see Inuyasha so you two can get back together!"

"Kikyo, just stop," Kagome begged. The side of her face that Kikyo had hit her burned.

"Why should I stop?" She pushed Kagome back. Her anger was getting out of her control. "You twirled Inuyasha around your finger so easy. You want the money, the luxuries. You don't love him. Not even a bit. It's his wealth, that's what you're after."

"It's not!" Kagome yelled and shoved Kikyo back. She had had enough. She wasn't going to let Kikyo push her around anymore. Kagome hadn't even thought of Inuyasha's money. She had known him and loved him before she had even known that he was the emperor China.

"You don't deserve him. You're nothing, you wrench!" Kikyo pushed her to ground.

Kagome was bewildered at her force. She had never even thought that Kikyo would go that far. She tugged on Kagome's hair and sat on top of her.

"Get off of me, Kikyo! That hurts!" Kagome yelled from underneath.

"It's all your fault that I have come to this, Kagome. Inuyasha is mine. He's going to be my husband. I'm going to be the queen." Kikyo laughed hysterically. She pulled out her dagger that she had hid under her close. "My mother had asked me how much I would do of love," she tilted her head and looked at the dagger that she was holding.

Kikyo continued, "I didn't answer her right away, but I have the answer now. I will do anything for love. I will even kill you to get rid of you once and for all so Inuyasha won't ever have to think of you again. I wouldn't have done this if you have stayed at my home, but no. You had to come here- to see Inuyasha again. Sadly… you're not going to be able to see him."

She lifted the dagger high. Her breath was staggered and her heart was racing. She bit her lower lip, ready to stab Kagome.

A/N: Now this is a really evil place to stop, but I'm going to do it. Sorry! Give me your guesses and reviews! What do you want to happen? I haven't written the next chapter, so your input can decide it. The end is now near. Four more chapters is my guess.


	27. Lies

A/N: I'm so excited! I'm so close to the end! AHHH. Lol. I'm excited for it too. Hope you guys are enjoying this story. So read!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lies

"Kikyo…" Kagome's eyes were wide. She lay on the hard grass with Kikyo right on top of her. Her breathing was staggered and irregular. Things were happening too fast for Kagome to even comprehend. One moment she was waiting for Inuyasha and the next thing she knew, Kikyo was trying to kill her.

"It ends here," Kikyo said and took a stab at Kagome.

For a split second, Kagome's mind went blank. Everything was so surreal. But snapping right back into reality just in time, she moved before the dagger went straight through her heart.

Taken by surprise, Kikyo landed on the ground on her back. Kagome had pushed herself up and thrown Kikyo off her. The dagger that was once in her hand was also thrown back and lay on the ground.

Kagome quickly sprung for the dagger. Yet, it was not only her hand that grasped it. "Let go," Kikyo said in her face.

"No. I don't want to hurt you, Kikyo. Just-" Kagome didn't care if Kikyo was trying to kill her, she didn't want either of them to get hurt.

"That's a funny thing for you to say. 'I don't want to hurt you, Kikyo,'" she imitated Kagome in a high pitched voice. "If you didn't want to hurt me, you wouldn't have come here." She pulled the dagger away from Kagome. Its blade cut into Kagome's hand since she was holding onto the blade and not the handle.

Instantly, Kagome knew that she had to get the dagger back. Kikyo was going to go after her, and there was no one here to stop her.

She fought with Kikyo for the dagger. They rolled on the grass, each yelling and crying from the pain. The dagger was in between them, stabbing each of them here and there.

Their cloths were torn with blood splotches all over. "Kikyo! Just stop!" Kagome yelled, Kikyo had just sent the dagger into her shoulder, and it was bleeding profusely.

"I. Want. You. Dead." Kikyo's eyes were blazing. There was no thinking involved now. All she wanted was to see Kagome dead.

Kagome grabbed Kikyo's hands that gripped the dagger. There had been several close calls where Kikyo almost could have stabbed her in the stomach.

They wrestled, not knowing where the dagger went, just as long as it wasn't through them.

Kikyo tried again to stab Kagome in the abdomen. Kagome pushed the dagger away from her again, yet this time, Kikyo's hands didn't pushed Kagome's hands back with as much force.

There was a scream. It was loud enough to wake the dead. Guards came rushing to the scene at once and surrounded the two girls.

Unable to breath, Kagome slid out from underneath Kikyo. Blood was covering her shirt. Kikyo wasn't moving. Kagome rolled her onto her back and saw that the dagger had been sent through her stomach.

It shocked her. What had happened? She couldn't have killed Kikyo. No. It couldn't be. All the guards were looking at her, pointed their weapons at her.

"I… I… didn't do it… I…" Kagome stuttered.

One of the guards held his fingers to Kikyo's nose to see if she was breathing or not.

Kikyo was dead.

Her eyes were open and the fire in them was still there. The dagger stuck in her stomach and blood was still rushing out. In all of the confusion, Kikyo had accidentally turned the dagger to face her and with Kagome's force, it dug deep into her.

&

One of the guards recognized Kikyo and headed straight for the queen's quarters.

"Mother, I'm through with this!" screamed the emperor as the guard approached. Inuyasha knew that he was late to meet Kagome and was trying to live.

"Where do you think you are going, Inuyasha?" the queen was frustrated at her son's behavior. He had never disobeyed her in such a way before.

"To see Kagome," his voice was low.

The guard bowed down. He wondered when he would be able to speak.

"What is it?" the queen finally took notice in the man in uniform.

"Your highness, you have to come quick. Lady Kikyo… she has been stabbed. I don't think she'll be able to make it," he added the last sentence… knowing that Kikyo was already dead.

There was silence. It took a moment for his words to sink in. Kikyo was dead.

The queen's knees felt weak and she held on to the table's edge to keep from falling. Her daughter… she thought. Kikyo… her daughter… dead. "Where is she?" she finally said.

"By the bridge, your highness."

Inuyasha stood there stunned. Kikyo was stabbed. The girl that had loved him… Even though he didn't like her, he hadn't dreamed that this would happen to her. He wanted to see her. He needed to know who had done it.

"Let's go," he took his mother by the arm and guided her to the bridge.

&

Kagome had scrunched up into a ball away from Kikyo. Her face was on her knees and her body shook in shock and fear. She couldn't comprehend what she had done. She was responsible for this. But it was entirely her fault. It wasn't her fault. She couldn't have possibly ended a person's life. It was Kikyo. She had pointed the dagger towards herself. Kagome had not intended on sending the dagger into Kikyo, just away from herself. It wasn't her fault. Yet, just ahead, Kikyo lay there unmoving.

Lifting her head up a bit, Kagome looked down at her hands. They were stained with blood- Kikyo's blood. She wanted to wash her hands; her shirt was covered in blood as well. It sickened her. This seemed like a bad nightmare, but it wasn't.

Footsteps were coming towards her. She turned her head. It was Inuyasha and the queen.

Instantly, the queen rushed towards Kikyo. Tears were streaming from her eyes. "Kikyo! Who could have done this to you!" she wailed out. Her face dug into Kikyo's chest.

Inuyasha saw Kagome and walked towards her instead. He squatted down to be leveled with her. "Kagome…" he lifted her chin so he could look at her.

Kagome's face was pale; it had absolutely no color, as if she had turned into a ghost. He touched her hands and saw that they were cold and covered with blood. "Kagome, what happened?" He looked at her, worry was written all over his face. He thought that whoever had attacked Kikyo had attacked Kagome too.

She couldn't possibly reply. She wanted to tell him, but her voice was gone. Everything had gone so wrong…

&

The queen got up, regaining some energy. She had convinced herself that Kikyo was not dead. "Get the doctor!" she screamed at the many guards. "She can't be dead! I have to save her!" she looked at them, none of them were moving, "Hurry! Go! I will not let her die!"

The guards stirred, none of them wanted to tell the queen the truth. Finally, a guard stepped forward. "Your highness," he began, his voice shaking, "we had checked if Lady Kikyo was breathing… and she wasn't."

The queen simply dropped to the ground. "Who did this to her… Who could have killed her… Kikyo… Kikyo…" the queen said. Grief swept over her. She had not been a good mother. She had given her daughter away the day that she had been born, and now she had not taken care of her, and she lay dead.

The queen brushed the hair out of Kikyo's face and ran her hand over her eyes to close them. "You're very beautiful. I love you, Kikyo. I want you to know that," and her hugged her deceased daughter.

"Your highness," the same guard that had spoken earlier said, "we suspect that Kagome killed Kikyo."

Inuyasha heard this and dropped Kagome's hand. His gaze changed. "You didn't right?" he asked her, a hint a suspicion in his voice.

"I didn't…" Kagome shook her head, hurt filled her voice. She couldn't believe that Inuyasha had believed that she had.

He didn't know what to believe. Everything pieced together. Why Kagome was covered in blood and sitting away from Kikyo. "Who's blood is this?" he lifted up her hands.

"I didn't do it, Inuyasha…" Kagome didn't know how she could explain herself. She wasn't the one to do it. Yet, everything pointed to her. No one would believe her. Inuyasha didn't even believe her.

The queen had made her way over to Kagome now. "Did you kill Kikyo?" she demanded from her.

"Your highness, you have to believe me…" tears ran down her face and her words were hard to make out, "I- I… didn't do it."

She didn't even want to hear this. Kagome had killed her daughter. The pure sight of the girl sickened her. She was covered in Kikyo's blood, and now she was trying to deny it.

"This is the girl you are in love with Inuyasha?" Her voice was like poison. Kagome couldn't believe it was the same queen that had smiled and cared for her. "She killed Kikyo. She was jealous. She didn't want Kikyo in her way. She killed her to get you all to herself and thought that she could get away with it. What a foolish thought." There words pained Kagome. She couldn't believe it. Inuyasha wasn't even looking at her anymore; even he thought that she had done this.

Anger had taken over the queen's grief. Now the thing that she wanted most was to kill Kagome with her bare hands. "Guards, take her away and lock her up tightly."

The guards obeyed and pulled Kagome up by her arms. "Inuyasha… you have to believe me. I didn't do it… I didn't do it," and that was all she could say to him.

&

Kikyo's funeral was held the following day in the morning. The ceremony was grand and many of the officials that had worked with Suga over the years showed up to share the grief.

Michiko had gone hysterical when she got the news from the queen. She now was on her knees in front of Kikyo's casket weeping uncontrollably.

Inuyasha was standing near the front, looking now onto Kikyo's face. He had never looked at her in such a way before. It was a look of longing. Inuyasha was sad that she was gone. It was like he had lost a relative, a young sister.

Pain surged in his chest, knowing that Kagome had done this. He couldn't believe it, and yet he did. Kagome was as such a sweet and kind person… what could have come over to do that. He did not know, but Kagome's hands were stained with Kikyo's blood. There was no way in denying it. All of the evidence pointed to her. The guards had even said that she had done it.

The queen walked over to Michiko, hoping to give her some words of kindness for the loss- but it was also her loss as well. "Michiko, I'm so sorry for what has happened."

Michiko sat, unmoving by the queen's soft words. "You- you're sorry? That was my daughter. She died because of Kagome." She knew that Kagome was the queen's daughter and the queen's daughter had killed her Kikyo. It just wasn't right.

The queen didn't know what Michiko could be talking about. Of course she was sorry, and Michiko should have told her that she was sorry for the loss. After all, Kikyo was her daughter, not Michiko's. "I am sorry, Michiko. It wasn't my fault that this happened," the queen tried again.

Tears still fell down her face. Michiko heart had turned into stone the day that her son was taken away from her nineteen years ago. She had blamed the queen for taking away her son and had never forgiven her. Her heart was torn in two when the guard had told her that the queen wanted to switch their children. She could have said no, and the queen knew that. The only thing she could do was give her new born a kiss on the forehead before letting him go.

Suga, kind-hearted as he was, had tried to stop her from dropping Kagome on the doorstep of a run-down restaurant building, but she had not listened. She was never in her life going to raise a child of a woman that she truly despised. And now she was going to get the queen back for having Kikyo, a child that she had kept her own and given her comfort for all these year, die because of Kagome. Kagome, the queen's daughter, had killed Kikyo. Michiko didn't understand how life could have treated her so unfairly.

She was going to make the queen pay. It wasn't enough to have Kagome poor; she was going to do something even more worse. "I'm sorry that I said that earlier, your highness. You must forgive," she sounded so sincere, "I am just not myself. Kikyo dieing so abruptly has shaken me up. You must feel as terrible as I do… after all she was _your_ daughter." Michiko added as emphasize on the 'your,' as well as lowering her voice so no one was able to hear her.

The queen nodded, a tear slipping from her eye. She regretted having given Kikyo away that night to trade her for Inuyasha. All these years she was unable to spend time with her own daughter, but Michiko hardly was able to even see Inuyasha.

"Kagome killed Kikyo in such a terrible way," Michiko continued, "I hope that you personally see to it that she gets the harshest punishment possible. Kikyo died in her hands… it was all because of jealously… money and power. She was nothing; you must make her pay for what she had done to Kikyo."

Thinking about what Michiko had said, the queen slowly shook her head in agreement. She had been thinking about the punishment for Kagome ever since she had found out that Kagome had killed Kikyo. A little bit of her didn't believe that. The girl that she had once cherished and valued could not have committed such a crime, but it was the truth that she had. "What would you like me to do? Execute her?" the queen asked, her voice was tired.

"Just an execute?" Michiko was not satisfied. "I can not let her get off that easily. You can't let her get away that easily. She killed your only daughter."

"This is not the time to discuss this, Michiko. I want to give Kikyo peace. She wouldn't want to hear us talk about this. I can assure that I will take good care of matters with Kagome." The queen walked away, a little more shaken up by the conversation that she just had. Her only daughter was dead, and she had the killer right in her hands… She shook the thought from her; she was going to pray for Kikyo and that was going to be the only thought on her mind for the duration of the funeral.

&

Kagome spent the night in the dirtiest and most enclosed cell. She only had enough room to fully lie down and stand up. The door that faced her now was made out of metal and her hands and feet were chained together.

Straw covered the ground and no sunlight was let in. She was utter darkness for a whole day now. No food had been given to her, had Kagome sat upright limply with her back to the wall.

All her energy was drained from her and the only thoughts that had been playing in her mind the entire time was the night near the bridge. Kikyo had died, and Inuyasha had not believed her.

She had not killed her. It was not her fault. Kikyo's hands were wrapped around the dagger and she had only pushed the dagger away because it had been close to killing her. Yes, Kagome had replayed the situation back in her mind more than a thousand times. That's what happened. She had nothing to do with the killing.

Suddenly, the door was open. Light poured into the tiny cell and Kagome had to shield her eyes. "Get up," a man told her sternly and pulled her up from the ground. "The emperor is here to see you."

He led her to a small room with a table in the center and two chairs. Inuyasha was already seated in one and the guard pushed down in the other facing it; then he stood to her left. Another guard came to stand to her right. It was as if they expected her to jump up and attack the emperor.

Kagome didn't look at Inuyasha. She had no reason to talk to him. After all this time that they had known each other, he had believed that she had killed someone.

Inuyasha looked straight at Kagome. He studied her. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He wanted to know the truth. He wanted to trust her… but a bit of him didn't. "Kagome…" he started. "I came her to learn why you had…"

He did not get the chance to finish. "You want to know why I killed Kikyo, is that right?" Kagome finally looked at him. She had not expected him to say that to her. He wanted to know why she had done it? And how could had even thought that he had come to know the truth to hear her out. How wrong could she have been? "Well, I'm going to tell you. I killed Kikyo. Are you happy? I killed her with my own two hands." She held them up; they were still stained with Kikyo's blood because they hadn't given her any water to wash them.

"I did it because I want your money. You're wealth. I was using you. Your mother was right. I did it all to be the queen. I wasn't in love with you. And after I saw that Kikyo was a threat to all of that, I had to get rid of her. I would have succeeded, but she had screamed after I had stabbed her." Kagome said all this in expressionless face. She couldn't believe the words that were coming out from her mouth. Inuyasha had just angered her. He didn't believe her when she had tried so hard to tell him the truth, and now she was giving him the story that he wanted to hear.

Stunned, he finally replied, "Kagome… I never loved you either. You were foolish of thinking that I ever did." He said it as emotionless as she had.

Kagome bit back the tears and the pain. So he hadn't loved her. "Well, I'm glad that we got that clear."

"Yeah, I am too. Now I know what kind of person you truly are." He stood up to leave, not looking back at her. Never asking her how she was in the jail, never caring enough to tell her that he did love her, never even telling her that he wanted to get her out of there. No, he had not been able to say this. Instead he had told her a lie. He loved her; she was the first person that he had cared that much for and for some reason after Kagome had told him that she had never loved him, he had to do the same back to her.

He steps dragged along the ground. His heart pained to know that she had never loved him. Every single word that Kagome said were resounding in his ears, and he believed every last word of it.

&

Kagome was thrown back into her cell and the door was once again close on her. Darkness surrounded her. She wanted to get out of there. She wanted to be anywhere but this. She would rather die than be here.

Yet, not long afterward, the door was again thrown up and the same guard came in to take her to a different room. The room contained chains and whips and a fire raged in the middle of it all. There was a woman standing with her back to Kagome.

"Tie her up to the cross," the woman said. Kagome recognized the voice instantly- it was the queen.

The guard took Kagome's wrists and tied a rope around it so that they hung to a wooden cross. Kagome's arms were spread apart and her legs remained chained together.

The queen turned to face her. The fire reflected in her eyes. She grabbed a whip that hung on the wall and stepped towards Kagome. "Now, I want to hear the truth, Kagome." Her voice was sharp and fierce. All the anger was rushing back to her at the sight of Kagome. Michiko's words were pounding in her ears. She would have to teach this girl a hard lesson for killing her daughter.

"Did you kill Kikyo?" she repeated.

"No," Kagome said solidly. She had told Inuyasha that she had, but she was not about to tell anyone else that. The truth was that she didn't, and she was not going to get punished for something that she had not done.

The whipped cracked, hitting her on the face. It stung and Kagome screamed. "I want the truth," the queen demanded.

"I didn't kill her!"

Again the whipped cracked. Anger and rage had taken over the queen. She wanted to kill Kagome.

Kagome again screamed from the pain. This time the queen had hit her one of her arms and her clothes ripped easily revealing her cut skin. Kagome couldn't believe that this was the queen. It seemed almost like she was possessed by the demon.

"Kikyo killed herself. She was trying to kill me!" Kagome told the queen desperately, hoping to not get whipped again.

She wasn't going to hear this. The whipped hit Kagome again.

"You are a liar. Kikyo would never try to kill anyone. You are such a deceiving girl. You had played with all of our hearts. You pretended to be kind and nice while are you nothing like that." The whip hit her again. "Your parents that raised you don't even deserve to be called parents. They have raised a monster!"

"You live my parents out of this. You don't even know them. You have no right-" Kagome was unable to finish. The queen whipped her harder.

Each beating hurt and Kagome was losing so much blood that her vision had become blurred. The queen was never going to stop. She was yelling and whipping her, each time it seemed harder than the last. Finally, it ended.

The queen still held the whip; her hand was shaking. Kagome's eyes were closed. She had fainted.

She looked at the girl. Slash marks covered her limp body. Her clothes were tattered and showed the marks. Just as the queen was about to tell the guards to take her back to her cell, she noticed something.

Kagome's sleeve was only half on her arm from all the whippings it had received. There clearly on her arm was a set of teeth marks.

The whip dropped from the queen's hand.

A/N: So… what do you think? Is it realistic enough that in all of the confusion that Kikyo accidentally kills herself because Kagome has nothing to do with it. I hope everyone liked it and how the story it going. This was an awfully sad chapter. It will get better. Review please (with a cherry on top!).


	28. Answers

A/N: Okay, thank you everyone that has read and reviewed. I really loved the reviews. I didn't think chapter twenty-seven was as good as you made it sound, but I'm glad that it was. I had a real hard time trying to get everything to sound dramatic and sad. This story is like my first, and I have never written this much before with such a plot, so I hope that I'm doing a decent job.

Thank you for keeping up with my story and reading it this far. It truly has touched me. So I hope you will like this next chapter. It is going to have all the answers that you need! Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Answers

Sango and Miroku made it back to the town without any troubles. They had returned near morning and decided to wait for the next night to sneak into Ximong's home to find the evidence that the need to free Mr. Matsuo.

"Hurry up, Sango," Miroku called to her from the bottom of the stairs.

Quickly, Sango skipped down the stairs. She had a black piece of cloth tied around her neck and a dagger handing from her waist.

"What was taking you so long to get ready? It's not like you have to dress up for this," he said sounding annoyed. He was not too thrilled about breaking into Ximong's house in the first place. If they were to get caught, his future would be ruined. Yet, he couldn't think of a better plan to save Mr. Matsuo.

"Oh, Miroku. Give me a break. I had to just find some things. It's been forever since I've been back in my house."

Miroku nodded. "Come on, my lady, then." He gestured to the front of the door and Sango walked ahead.

The streets were deserted. Sango and Miroku walked in the shadows silently. They came upon Ximong's house. All of the lights were all off.

"It's through that window, Miroku. That should be the Ximong's office. Do you think you'll be able to get me over the gate?"

He looked around reluctantly. The gates were locked and, thankfully, there were no guards. "Alright, step in my hands and I'll throw you over."

Miroku put his hands in front of him, one on top of the other and Sango stepped gently on top of them. He tossed her up lightly, and she grabbed the top of the gate and jumped down onto the other side. Miroku then took a couple of stepped back and jumped to the top as well.

"Shh," Sango whispered. She was hunched over by the wall under a window. "I think his office is in here." She pulled open the window and climbed in, followed by Miroku. Surely enough, it was Ximong's study.

They quickly searched the instant they were in the room. Sango took out a candle that she had brought and lit up a match. The flame eerily illuminated the room.

Miroku pulled open drawers and started shuffling through the papers and Sango rummaged through the things on his desk.

"Sango!" Miroku saying a little too loudly.

"Quiet! Do you want to get us caught?" Sango said, her tone almost as loud as his.

"Sorry. But I think I found what we need," he told her coolly. He had opened up a little drawer that had been kept locked with a piece of wire. "Here are the documents that show that Sesshomaru has transferred the rice to Ximong, and here are letters discussing their plan. It's all here. Suga was right. There was evidence." Miroku held up a whole stack of papers.

"Oh my god! We have found it!" Sango said excitedly, giving Miroku a warm hug. "Hurry, let's get out of here." She pulled him up by the hand.

Sango was out of the window when they heard someone approaching. Miroku tried to quickly climb out, but it was too late.

"Where do you think you're going, Miroku?" Kouga said. He looked at them, already holding up his sword.

"Run for it!" Miroku cried to Sango who was standing there frozen.

Miroku leaped out of the window with Kouga right behind him. "Get out, Sango!" He took out his sword to distract Kouga, so Sango would be able to get over the gate.

As soon as Sango was over, Miroku jumped up away from Kouga's reach and went over the gate.

"We have to get back to the palace," she told him quietly, her eyes stuck on Kouga. Miroku put the papers under his robe and took her hand to make a run for it back to Sango's house.

"Get back here!" Kouga screamed at from the other side of the gate. He was fumbling with hands to find the keys to the gate. "Guards! We've had intruders! Get after them!"

At once, the gates were open and four men bolted after Miroku and Sango.

Miroku and Sango made it back to the house out of breath. The guards were still chasing after them and the only reason that they were able to lose them for the moment was because it was dark and they had able to hide in the shadows and slip away.

They mounted on a single horse and rode off into the night.

"That…was… close…" Sango breathed. Her head rested on Miroku's back.

"I'm just glad that we got it." He patted his chest where the papers were stowed.

"Thank you. I couldn't have done any of this without you." Sango said as she closed her eyes. She finally felt comfortable around him. It was a safe feeling. He had fought with Kouga to give her time to escape and had traveled with her for this long to prove her father's innocence. He had transformed in her eyes.

"That's what I'm here for, Sango. Go to sleep now. We'll be there soon."

And she did fall asleep. The warmth on his back felt good. He had finally been able to prove to her his intentions and feelings towards her. He loved her and would do anything for her.

&

The queen stared at the teeth marks. Yes, they were teeth marks. There was no mistake. Yet, why did Kagome possess teeth marks. She remembered that she had bitten her daughter to be able to recognize her later on, but Kikyo had teeth marks.

Was it a coincidence? No, it couldn't be. "Guard, get me a bucket of water. Splash this girl so she wakes up."

Kagome was soaking wet when she sputtered back into life. "What are you doing?" she moaned. Her whole body ached and her head throbbed. She was so weak she could hardly keep her eyes open.

"The teeth marks…" the queen started, "where did you get them?"

"Why do you care? You just want to kill me, you witch." Kagome's wounds were still open and fresh. Each strike that the queen had inflicted her had ripped her heart as well. There was no love left in the world.

"I want to know where you got those teeth marks!" the queen said, her voice rising.

"They were on me when my aunt found me on her doorstep. I have one on each arm. Satisfied?" Kagome's voice was dropping, She didn't have the energy to think anymore. Why was the queen even asked her these things. It's not like mattered to her.

"On each arm?" The queen rolled up her other sleeve. Sure enough, she saw another set of teeth marks.

"Yeah…" Kagome's eyes began to close.

The queen didn't understand. There were two sets now, not just one. She had only given her child one set of teeth marks. Instantly, she knew that she had to go to find Michiko. There was something going on and she had to find out.

&

"Michiko, you can't have the princess of China executed," Suga said, rubbing his forehead. He was pacing back and forth in front of his wife in their front room.

"Kagome killed Kikyo. She killed our daughter, Suga. You can't just not do anything about it."

"But Kikyo isn't our real daughter. We have treated her as her own, but she isn't our blood," Suga said in defense.

"She's our daughter. We raised her ever since she was born. It doesn't matter if she wasn't ours," sadness filled her voice, "She had always loved us as her parents. Kikyo never even knew."

"_You can't leave the child there," Suga told Michiko, but she wouldn't listen. Nothing was going to stop her. "The queen is going to find out that we have gotten rid of her daughter. She was the princess of China. She's going to have us all executed when she finds out. Michiko, your breaking our promise to raise her child."_

_His wife was not going to have this. She had already left the princess on a doorstep of a restaurant. She couldn't possibly go back. She had a right to do that after the queen had taken away her son. _

"_Our son will become king. We couldn't have given him a better future. It's a good thing that the queen has taken him as her own son. The least we can do is take care of her daughter. You must go back before it's too late," Suga begged. _

"_No."_

"_Please… you must understand…"_

"_He was my son, Suga! I will never get to see him grow. He will never call me 'mother.' We'll find another a child. The queen will never know. There is an orphanage just a few miles away. We'll be able to adopt of new born baby girl." _

_Suga closed his eyes and stopped pacing. There was no way that his wife was going to change her mind. If he was to go to the place where Michiko had dropped off the baby and bring her back, his wife would only torment her. He didn't want the child to suffer. He then nodded reluctantly and would regret it for the rest of his life. _

"You have taken this too far. You have to tell the queen. You have to stop this." Suga said forcefully.

"No, I will not. The queen deserves this terrible fate. She is killing her own daughter, maybe even torturing her to death. She has taken away our only son, and now she will be killing her only daughter. It's karma."

Suga could not believe that this was his wife. She was acting like a cruel, heartless person. "I'll tell the queen myself if you don't. I have made the mistake once, and I will not stand by and see Kagome get killed."

Michiko laughed. Her husband gapped at her. She didn't even care. "You're going to save a girl that has killed our daughter and was traded for our son! You're more insane than me."

He was not going to continue this with his wife any longer. He was going to tell the truth, and if the truth was going to cost him his life, he was willing to give it after what Kagome had gone through because of him; he deserved the punishment.

&

Kagome was released and taken to another cell. This one was cleaner and had a little window for some to light to seep in. A tray of food was shoved under the door, and Kagome ate quickly.

The food rejuvenated her immediately. Still her wounds were all over her body and every single position that she got in pained her.

Finally she was able to think about what the queen had asked her earlier- the teeth marks. What did the queen care? Today, Kagome had seen a very different side of the queen. She had hit her hard, and it was only until she had fainted that the queen had stopped. Kagome couldn't believe that the queen could have turned so cold.

In the end, Kagome lied on the cold stone floor and fell asleep. Nothing made sense anymore, and it seemed like they never would.

&

"Your highness," Michiko said as she bowed to the queen. There had been a message earlier for her to come immediately to see the queen.

"Stand. I want to ask you something." The queen waved her hands to signal to the servants and guards to leave the room. Once they were alone, she continued, "Who is my real daughter?"

Michiko looked startled at the question. "Kikyo is your daughter, your highness," she replied as if nothing had happened.

"I want the truth," the queen persisted.

"Kikyo is your daughter. You have given me to raise her ever since the first day that she was born. I was never given anything in return, and yet I still did it for you. Your highness, you have taken away my son, and now you are questioning who your daughter is? It is Kikyo, how do you want me to prove it to you?" Michiko shook away all the fears and worries that she had that the queen had figured out Kagome was her daughter. She sounded confident, and even made the feel bad for asking such a question.

&

Sango and Miroku reached Suga's home by morning. Miroku dismounted and helped Sango down.

Suga was sitting on a wooden bench in the front yard. "Sango… Miroku," he said deeply, "you're back. Did you find the evidence?" He sounded tired and exhausted.

"Yes, we did. The papers were exactly what you told us they would be," Sango reported, "Can we go and free my father now?" She was ready to see her father.

"We will go at once, but there is more than this that we will have to clear up."

Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. What was Suga talking about- more than one thing has to be cleared up? What was the other thing? Instead of questioning him, they followed him onto the carriage to the palace.

&

Suga worked quickly once they were in the palace. He got everyone he could together. Everything was coming out, and it was going to come out today.

Inuyasha sat down in the room where his meetings would usually take place, except the people how were before him were completely different.

To his right, the queen sat on her chair and in front of him, Sesshomaru and Suga stood. Just behind them were Sango, Miroku and Michiko and in the very back still in chains were Kagome, Naraku, and Yang Matsuo. It couldn't have been a more awkward crowd.

Kagome kept her eyes down. Sango and Miroku were trying to ask her how she had ended up like this but had to remain silent. Inuyasha looked at Kagome and Yang. He wanted to release them. He wanted to set things right again with Kagome. What kind of emperor was he if he couldn't even be able to do that?

Inuyasha looked at everyone. What was happening? Suga didn't tell him when he had told him that there was a meeting.

"Suga, explain yourself," Inuyasha inquired as soon as everyone had bowed.

"Your highness, today I would like to come forward with a couple of issues," Suga told him, sweat forming on his forehead. He was nervous. What was going to said today was going to have drastic consequences.

"Continue."

"First, Sango and Miroku have some evidence to prove Mr. Matsuo's innocence."

Sango and Miroku stepped forward as Suga took a few steps back. Miroku reached into his robe and pulled out the papers that he had stowed away earlier. "These documents show that Sesshomaru and Ximong have a relationship. These letters discuss their plan on framing Yang Matsuo and also it indicates…," he paused of a second, reading the letter himself, "a plan for taking over the throne," Miroku's voice lingered. He had not had the time to read over these papers and was just skimming it over now. The news startled him. Sesshomaru and Ximong weren't just planning on accusing Yang, but they also wanted to dethrone Inuyasha.

Miruko continued on, "There is also some paperwork here that show the transaction of the bags of rice. This proves that the rice was not Mr. Matsuo's in the first place." He took the papers and handed them to Inuyasha to read over.

Yang looked relieved. He was finally going to be set free. His daughter had saved him. She had gone to find the proof that he needed. Just her presence had raised his spirit. And now he wanted to jump up and wrap his arms around her.

In the front of the room, Sesshomaru looked unworried. It seemed like all the evidence pointed to him for treason, yet still he was able to keep his cool.

Inuyasha looked over at Sesshomaru, finally understanding his official's motives. "It states here, Sesshomaru, that you wrote and I quote, 'Ximong, I have sent the rice over. We must act quickly. Take the rice and place it all in his storage during the night. You will be able to rule your city and I my empire.' What do you have to say to this?"

"You can't use those pieces of paper as evidence. He could have written them under my name. You don't have any solid proof. I have done nothing over the years to serve to the best of my abilities to your father and now you." He seemed unwavering and collected. He knew that Inuyasha could not get rid of him. He was all too powerful in the palace. If he were to leave, the palace would crumble from disorder.

"Naraku, would you come forward?" Suga stepped in. "I want to know if there is any relationship between you and Sesshomaru?" During the time that Sango and Miroku had been gone, he was able to poke around for evidence on his own. To his surprise, he found that there has been some communication between Sesshomaru and Naraku.

Now, Sesshomaru looked worried. If Naraku was going to tell everyone here in the room the truth, there was no way he could get away with what he had done. During this whole time he had forgotten that Naraku was even in the room.

Naraku looked over at Sesshomaru quickly. He shook his head slightly at him. Then Naraku faced Inuyasha to speak. "Inuyasha, we met once again. I will not deny that I have tried to kill you for the throne which rightfully belongs to me."

"An act that you will pay with your life," Inuyasha added.

"So I see no point in holding back the truth then, since either way I'm going to be dieing." He held up his arms, showing everyone his chains. "Sesshomaru was the one to help me get into the palace that one night that I broke into your room. He had promised me the throne if I could kill you and I would give him all the power he wanted in return. Yet, once I was unable to complete my task, Sesshomaru disappeared. He didn't ever try to help me, and this is what he gets for betraying me." Naraku whipped his head over to face Sesshomaru, who was now gazing ahead in disbelief.

"How could you do this to me Naraku? You're the traitor, not me. I was working on a way on getting you out," he lied, "Everything you had just said ruins everything that we wanted to do. I should not have been foolish enough to ask for your help. I could have done this all myself and claim the throne for myself," Sesshomaru said in anger and frustration.

Inuyasha could not believe what he was hearing. Sesshomaru had just openly claimed that he was going after the throne. "Enough. Sesshomaru, I never trusted you and now I have a good reason for not doing so. Guards, chain him up and release Yang Matsuo."

Yang rubbed his wrists. They were still red from the chains. Sango ran to him immediately. "Father! You look so tried. I'm so sorry it took me this long."

"Sango, my dear daughter," he said through tears. "I had thought that I had lost you."

Their beautiful reunion was interrupted by Sesshomaru's yelling. "Let me go! You can't tie me up! I'm the highest ranking official here." Sesshomaru tried to fight off the guards, but he soon lost by the numbers. "Inuyasha, you're going to regret this. I hold the armies and make the big decisions around here."

"I'm not going to kill you Sesshomaru because you have done so much for China," Inuyasha said calmly, ignored what Sesshomaru had previously said. "I will sentence will life down south in the rural areas were you will be a farmer and never hold a sword or command an army ever again."

"Inuyasha! Don't you-"

"I'm the emperor and will be called that. Guards, gag him."

A guard stuffed a wad of cloth into his mouth and only muffled sounds were coming out now.

"Suga, I thank you very much for bring this to my attention. Without you, I don't know what troubles he would have caused."

"It is my duty," Suga replied solemnly.

The room went quiet. Everyone was still thinking about what had just occurred in the past few minutes. Sesshomaru had been working with both Ximong and Naraku to dethrone Inuyasha and Yang had been innocent this whole time.

Inuyasha took a deep breath before remembering, "Suga, you said that you have come here with more than one issue. What is the other?"

Michiko knew this whole time that her husband was going to tell everyone that Kagome was the queen's daughter. She wanted to stop him but she knew that she couldn't. They were all standing there, what else could be done? So she stood by idly and watched it all unfold.

Suga shifted, looking more uncomfortable by the second. He had to tell them. There was no other way. The truth was going to be known. Everything was going to be made clear today. "Kagome is the princess of China."

The queen nearly fainted at the words. Kagome was her daughter then. She had almost killed her own daughter. She had given Kagome away and then nearly killed her… she didn't deserve being her mother.

Inuyasha nearly jumped from his seat at this. Kagome was the princess… then that meant that they were siblings… he didn't understand. "Explain yourself!"

The official nodded. "Nineteen years ago, the queen had given birth to a princess. She knew that if she didn't give birth to a son there was a likelihood that she and her daughter would both be executed. Not taking this risk, she switched her daughter with my son, Inuyasha."

Everything seemed to have turned upside down. Inuyasha was Suga's and Michiko's son and Kagome was the princess of China.

"What?" Sango, Miroku, Kagome, and Inuyasha said at the same time. They all were not comprehending what Suga had just said.

"It is the truth. I thought that I would never tell anyone this, especially you, Inuyasha, but things were all taken too far. Kikyo was never our daughter. We had adopted her so she could take the place of Kagome. My wife had placed her on a doorstep of a restaurant that very night she was born."

"Kagome…" the queen was finally able to say.

"I can't… be the princess of China. This is just so wrong. How could you have given me up the day that I was born," she directed the question to the queen.

The queen's hands were shaking. "I didn't have a choice. We could have been killed…" her voice dragged on.

"Then Michiko, you set everything up, didn't you?" Kagome said, hardly unable understand the truth.

Michiko looked at Kagome. Her face brought anger and injustice to Michiko. "Kikyo died in your hands. She was my daughter," she said hysterically, "You were going to have to pay the price, and I was going to have your own mother kill you for the act!"

"You're sick. You were the one to leave me, not my parents. You left a baby on a doorstep with no note… just teeth marks." Kagome couldn't handle all the emotions any longer and tears started to fall from her eyes.

"Your mother had given you one and I gave you the other. It was only to recognize you now," Michiko replied.

"Kagome, I'm so sorry." The queen left her seat and ran down the steps to Kagome. "Kagome, my dear child."

Instead, Kagome drew away. "You're not my mother," she said coldly.

"Kagome… I know I have done so many things wrong, but please you have to forgive me for my actions. I didn't know." Again she tried to embrace her daughter and Kagome pulled away again.

"Not right now. Get these chains off me. I didn't kill Kikyo. Do you believe me now that I'm the princess?"

Sesshomaru started to wrestle with the guards that held him and broke away, pulling the gag out of his mouth. "No, you didn't kill Kikyo, Kagome. I was the one to tell her to kill you. It was all my plan and it would have worked if she hadn't screwed up. That girl probably did accidentally kill herself. Killing you, Kagome, would be killing the princess and breaking our emperor's heart. I would then be able to come forward with the knowledge that Inuyasha was not the true heir. I had kept this secret myself for the past nineteen years. That night I had sent a spy and I found out the awful truth. I would only be able to take over after the princess was killed or else there would be heir to the throne. I was so close to having all of China!" he said, sounding almost victorious. Guards again held him back from running up to Inuyasha.

"Remove her chains now and take Sesshomaru away," Inuyasha said.

Guards quickly removed her chains and Kagome stood upright.

"Okay," the queen finally nodded. "This must be hard on everyone to learn all of this today."

Everyone nodded. Then Yang remembered something. "Suga, this explains why you have always wanted me to look after Kagome. I never knew how you could have even known the young child and I let my own daughter play with her all these years. I had not done much for her."

"Yes, that is why. I couldn't keep an eye on her myself. Thank you for what you have done in my place."

"No. I could have done so much more. I'm so sorry Kagome. I could have given you an education or given you money. I could have done so much more, my princess…"

"No, don't say that. You were almost like a father to me."

Yang nodded and Sango hugged Kagome, touching her wounds. "Kagome… these wounds?"

"It's nothing." Kagome didn't want to talk about it.

"I hope that everything that was said today, remains a secret," Suga added and turned to leave, pulling his wife along with him. He was glad that the queen didn't want to give her a punishment and didn't want her to realize that she hadn't.

Naraku was taken away by the guards.

"Kagome, we're going to Suga's place for now. Are you coming with us?"

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha. He stared right at her. There was still some things that they had to settle.

"You guys go ahead."

They nodded understandingly and left, following Suga back to the carriage.

A servant then led the queen back to her bedroom to get some rest.

Finally Inuyasha was able to speak to Kagome alone. He got up from his seat and walked down to her.

"Kagome…" he whispered.

"Inuyasha…" she said, her voice cracked.

They both looked at each other of a long moment. They tried to read each other's faces. Kagome took a step forward towards him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Kagome."

A/N: OMG! The truth is completely out! Finally, finally, finally! Was everything crystal clear? I sure hope so. Okay, just a little more and then I'm going to be done. How much longer do you want this story to be? Please review!


	29. I Love You

A/N: Gosh, summer is going by so fast. It is insane. I never have enough hours in day. I mean, what if there were like 25 hours in a day instead of 24… we would have more time in our lives. So that is why it took me two weeks to write this ending chapter. I wanted to get it out sooner. I have a goal to finish before the end of the summer. So I hope to make it.

I wanted to make this chapter sweet and touching and just plain loving. Everyone has already gotten hurt, so this is the time where they all love each other. Everyone needs love. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I Love You

Kagome stood unmoving in Inuyasha's arms. She had longed to hear those words come out of his mouth. 'I'm sorry…' They rang in her ears.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome affectionately. He touched her face with his fingertips. Kagome's face was smudged with dirt and her eyes looked twinkled with tears that glistened in them.

"I didn't mean any of those things that I told you in the jail," he continued. "I had wanted to hear the truth from you. I didn't want to believe that you had killed Kikyo. I wanted… I wanted to tell you that I wanted you out of that place… that …that I love you," he ended.

This was everything that Kagome needed to forgive him. She had acted rashly and said the things that she didn't want… "I love you too Inuyasha," she whispered to him and rested her head on his chest as he kissed her warmly on the top of her head. She instantly felt a surge of warmness flow through her body; she felt loved and all the hatred instantly vanished from within her heart.

Kagome started to cry in happiness. "There were so many things that I had planned to tell you that day. I wanted to tell you that I was innocent. I wanted you to know that I hadn't killed her, that it wasn't me. But that look on your face after the guard had told you that I had killed Kikyo. You hadn't believed me…" her voice trailed off.

"I shouldn't have listened to the guard," Inyasha admitted, she lifted Kagome's head so she would look directly at him, "I should not have even suspected you- that's why I came back… to ask for the truth. I hadn't meant it to come out that way. Kagome… I'm sorry. I should have known better."

He wanted her forgiveness. Everything that she had gone through because he decided to not listen, to not understand, and to believe that she had even killed Kikyo. He wanted so hard for things to go back to how they were. He wanted Kagome to trust him again. Kagome was his other half. He would no longer be able to live without her.

"I would have never killed anyone… not for your money… not for this empire. I had never thought of such a thing. I had come back to the palace to tell you that I couldn't be with you. I didn't want to be in the way. I didn't want you to be underestimated by you. I was going to leave you… even if it was going to shatter my heart. I was going to do that all for you. It was because I didn't want to hurt you and your position as emperor," Kagome looked at him, her eyes were filled with hurt.

"Just stop, Kagome." Inuyasha said softly. He couldn't take it anymore. He had been so wrong.

Yet, Kagome continued, "I forgive you for everything."

That was all Inuyasha needed to hear. "Thank you…"

They stood silent for awhile in each others' arms in the empty room. Kagome felt protected with Inuyasha beside her. He fingered her wounds on her armsm and she winced in pain. He looked at the cuts- the slashes that had pained her from the whip.

"Who did this to you?" he asked her finally.

Kagome hesitated to respond. "It was the queen," she said at last.

"My mother?" Then something hit Inuyasha. "_Your_ mother," he said, his voice almost echoed in the room.

"Yeah… she is my mother. A mother whipping her very own daughter this way…" Kagome had pulled away from Inuyasha. She touched her wounds. No medicine had been applied, and she had not changed her torn blood-stained clothes yet either.

"I'm not the emperor. You're the princess- you should be the one on that throne, Kagome. I don't deserve this. You do."

Inuyasha finally pieced everything together. All the shock before had now swept over him and he was coming back to reality. The real reality.

"Inuyasha, do you know what would happen if this information got out? You have to still be emperor. What the queen had done breaks so many laws that I probably wouldn't be able to live to rule the empire. And I wouldn't be able to do it like you." Kagome spun around looking at the entire meeting room- spreading out her arms representing the place that she could never govern. "We can't tell anyone."

"But… I don't even have royal blood… this throne doesn't belong to me," for the first time, Inuyasha sounded weak and unsure of things. His world had been turned upside down. Nothing worked anymore. Nothing made sense. Everything felt so wrong, yet they were so right.

Kagome shook her head at him. "It doesn't matter about blood. Now that I have royal blood I'll be able to marry you," she said amusingly.

Inuyasha got to his knee once more. "So, will you take my hand now, princess?" He smiled at her.

"Yes, I will take your hand," she told him seriously. And Inuyasha got up and grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into the air, spinning her around. Kagome laughed for the first time in a couple of days. She laughed with her heart and her soul. Everything was right and nothing could be wrong any longer.

&

Miroku opened the door for Mr. Matsuo and Sango to enter. They had returned to Suga's place, and he had given them a room to stay in until they were well rested up enough to make the journey home.

Yang sat slowly down on a chair in the middle of the room. At the very end of the room were two small beds, and there was a small window that let the sun rays pour in.

His hand rested on the table. He looked tired and, but for once, relived. Sango took the seat across from him and Miroku sat down beside her. Mr. Matsuo took his daughter's hands. "I thought that I had lost you, Sango," he spoke into their hands. "Sesshomaru had told me that you had died. My world had died at the very moment, Sango. I'm so glad that you aren't hurt..." he was trying hard to fight back the tears. "You're my only daughter, and I can't be prouder of you. You believed that I was innocent, and you are the reason that I'm sitting here free today. Thank you." His last two words came from the bottom of his heart. He couldn't put all his feelings into words and those were the closest words that he could come up with.

"Father, I would always stand by your side," Sango said in confidence, a smile was one her face and tears of joy ran down her face. "I had to get you out. It's my duty as your daughter to believe in you and I always knew that you were never guilty."

"Yes, Mr. Matsuo," Miroku spoke for the first time, "Sango's faith in you never wavered."

Yang let go of Sango's hands and patted Miroku on the back. "Thank you for everything that you have done for her, being there for her and helping me."

"It was my responsibility," Miroku responded. Sango looked at him and smiled. He had been there for her this entire time. He was her shoulder to lean on and protected her when she was in danger.

Miroku took a deep breath before continuing, "Mr. Matsuo…" he hesitated. He didn't know if it was the appropriate time to ask, but in the end he decided that there would be no better time. "I would like to ask you permission to marry your daughter, Sango." At the moment, he took Sango's hand and she didn't push it away. The hate that had been present the first few days that they had met had evaporated.

"It was always the plan that you two get married and I'm glad that the both of you are happy about the arrangement," Yang couldn't have been happier any other day. He was released and his daughter was willing to marry the man that he had arranged for her.

Miroku pulled Sango into his arms. "I love you, Sango," he said this into her ear and she kissed him on the check.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

&

On the other side of the wall, Suga and Michiko were sitting in silence. Suga had told everyone everything. He knew what he had done was for the best, but the truth rocked everyone's world, including his.

"Michiko…" he began, not knowing what to say to his wife.

She looked up at him wearily. "Are you happy now? You told everyone that Kikyo wasn't our daughter and Kagome was the princess and Inuyasha was not the real emperor. What were you thinking? What good does any of that do?" She shook her head and fury and frustration.

Suga didn't know if the person he was facing was his wife anymore. She knew exactly why he had done it. After Kikyo's death, she hadn't been herself. It was as if a part of her left her with Kikyo.

"If you hadn't almost had the queen kill her own daughter, none of this would have ever happened. The secret would have gone with us to the grave. Michiko, you had to understand why I did it. It wasn't to hurt you; it was for the best for the empire."

His wife was silent. The rage within her had not been able to burn out, yet it was flaming harder than ever. How she wished her son to be by her side and how she wanted Kikyo to still be alive. "Suga, there are things that you will never understand about being a mother and never having your son look at you," she said, her voice echoed and sounded faint.

With that she walked out of the room. She couldn't take it anymore. How the world had just crumbled beneath her. She wanted so much for her own life to end. What would be the point of living on any further. She didn't have Kikyo or Inuyasha and her husband just told the queen of the crime that she had committed- a crime that she was going to have to pay with her life. There was no point in living… all the things that she wanted to get right in her life had done her wrong in the end. The things that she wanted to get back in life were taken away from her yet again. Michiko didn't understand and she was never going to.

&

The queen lay on her bed with a maid beside her. "I can't believe it," she spoke to herself holding her forehead. The things that she had just found out were still processing her mind. All the words were swirled together and her head throbbed just trying to understand it. All these years she had been fooled into thinking that Kikyo was her daughter… and she had almost killed her own daughter… How could it all be true?

Suddenly, she sat up. "I have to pull myself together," she said to the room. She was going to have to remain calm and act like nothing had happened. No one was going to find out that Inuyasha was not the real emperor. The empire was far more important than her personal life.

She put on her outer robe and walked to find Inuyasha. They were going to have a long talk.

&

Inuyasha and Kagome were still in a state of pure happiness when the queen found them. Inuyasha held Kagome and he didn't want to ever let her go, but the broke apart quickly once they saw the queen.

"Your highness," Kagome said as she bowed, still used to her regular greeting.

"Kagome…you don't have to do that anymore now. You're my daughter…" the queen tried to say this with as much ease as she could.

Kagome looked at the ground, not knowing how to react. "I think there should be some time in between before I can accept that fact that you are my mother," she said each word slowly and carefully.

"I understand. After what you have gone through… what I had done to you… I think we all need some time. I just want you to forgive me for my actions. That is all I ask from you now."

Kagome didn't say anything. She was not ready to forgive the queen for her actions. She had begged in the jail and said that she was innocent. She had begged and still the queen had whipped her. If she hadn't stopped, Kagome didn't know if she would have been able to make it.

"Don't pressure her. She doesn't need that now," Inuyasha said, defending Kagome.

The queen bit her lip. "I'm sorry." She rubbed her temples. "Inuyasha, I know that the news today came as a shock for you as well."

He nodded. He didn't know how to act anymore. He didn't belong. The queen was no longer his mother… he no longer was in position to be emperor.

"I want you to know that I raised you like my very own child. Your father didn't even know that you weren't his blood. I made a mistake nineteen years ago switching Kagome for you. I regret it deeply every single day from that very day forward. But I want you to understand that you will be still be the emperor as you have always been. Nothing is going to change. No one knows about this except the ones that were in the room today and no one is going to be telling," she stated it as if it was law.

"But I don't belong in the position," Inuyasha began.

"I will have nothing of that nonsense. You are the emperor. You have ruled this empire like your own and now just because you know that you aren't blood-related to your father and me, you think that you have to give up your throne- your empire. Inuyasha, you can't give it up. You have to think of the people of China. You're a good emperor." She smiled at him just as a mother would smile at her son.

"Well, if blood doesn't matter now, why didn't it matter before?" he said, his tone rising.

"I was wrong," the queen knew it now.

"I want to share this empire with Kagome. I'll continue to rule as emperor for her. She will rule with me," he said, this time with compassion.

Kagome looked up into his eyes. They gleamed and a smile formed on his face. He would never forget her. He was always there for her.

"I'm sorry for not allowing you two to marry before. There is nothing I would like better than for the two of you to work together as a couple and run this empire." The queen started to cry. She cried for all the things that she had done wrong and all the things that she had done that had hurt her daughter.

For the first time, Kagome felt forgiveness form in her heart. She stepped closer to her mother and embraced her. "I forgive you," she told her and the queen smiled through all the tears.

&

One Month Later

Kagome sat in an empty room. She was dressed in a gorgeous red robe. A piece of silk hung from her the tiara on her head and covered her face.

Excitement ran all over her body. A maid held Kagome's hand as she led the bride to the carriage to the sight of the ceremony.

When the carriage stopped, Inuyasha opened the carriage door and took Kagome's hand. "You look beautiful."

"You can't even see my face," she rolled her eyes at him from under the silk.

He laughed and walked her toward the building.

Just after Kagome's carriage was Sango's. Miroku opened the door and took Sango's hand. "My lovely wife," he cooed.

"I'm not your wife yet," she teased.

"Gosh, you should really see this place. It's amazing," Miroku said as he looked around.

Sango lifted the silk up a little and took a peak. 'Traditions,' she thought. She hated the tradition of having the brides where the silk over their face. What could be the point?

She gasped silently as she looked ahead. The place was truly amazing. There were flowers and more than a thousand people watching the ceremony. The walls had been decorated with red banners and there was a whole band to the right of the building. Everything looked perfect. She was going to get married with her best friend. No one could ever ask for more.

The two couples each approached a long table with hundreds of dishes of food eloquently prepared. They got to their knees. A monk stood to the right. He said some prayers and the vows that they would be taking. Then he told them to bow to their ancestors and then to one other. They were now going to be linked together for eternity.

The queen, Suga, Kaede, and Mr. and Mrs. Matsuo watched the ceremony with smiles on their faces. Everything had ended just as everyone could ever have dreamed them to.

Inuyasha pulled the silk off of Kagome. "I love you," and he pulled her towards him and kissed her on the lips tenderly. Kagome felt her heart flutter and the crowd clapped as they pulled apart.

"To the king and queen," the crowd said as bowed their head to Kagome and Inuyasha.

Kagome smiled at the crowd. At last, she was going to be accepted. And Inuyasha smiled with her. He had finally surpassed all the obstacles that were placed in front of him.

Nothing could have felt better for the two of them. Inuyasha put his hand around Kagome's waist and the looked out on their empire. Forever they were going to be together. Together they were going to govern China, and together they were going to live happily ever after.

A/N: I should have started out with 'once upon a time…' lol. I hope the ending was good. There is going to one more chapter. Just to give you the definite end.


	30. Epilogue

A/N: To all my readers: This is going to be the last chapter. It's going to be totally finished. I hope that everyone that has been reading my story has enjoyed it.

My chapters had changed over time, beginning with humor and ending with sorrow and seriousness. Yet, in the end, everyone did find love and it was joyful.

I want to take this time to also thank everyone for the support, input, and just for plain reading it. You have all given me inspiration and motivation and the dedication it took to write this story. Without the readers, I don't think this would have ever been finished. Thank you for everything. You have gotten me to grow so much as a writer.

Also, this is not going to be my last story! Woot! I'm going to be writing one with D-E-V-L-41. It's another Inuyahsa fanfic. This story is going to be about pirates and clues and of course romance. It is going to called _Deception_, so I hope that you will go check it out right after you read the epilogue. So I'm not going to be going away after this ends. It's on my friend's page, so I'm going to give you the link on my profile page because it wouldn't let me do it on here.

Alright, so here is the epilogue. Everything will end here. Hope you guys will like it. Enjoy!

Epilogue

It had been two years now since their wedding. Inuyasha and Kagome together worked to form the nation that stood before them today. China was stronger and more united and the citizens bowed to their king and queen with respect.

Just a few months ago, Kagome had given birth to a young and healthy baby boy. Inuyasha was holding him now; the baby wailing in his arms.

Miroku sat across from him on the blanket that Sango and Kagome had laid out for them. The two couples were going to take a day off and have a relaxing picnic.

"I don't understand why he cries so much," Inuyasha was shifting the child back and forth in his arms to get to stop crying.

"You just aren't holding him right," Miroku said, looking affectionately at his own daughter in his arms. His daughter was fast asleep in his arms; she was born on the same exact date as Inuyasha's and Kagome's son.

The baby prince of China kept on wailing in his father's arms. "Kagome, did you switch our child of Miroku's? Because if you did, I would rather have our daughter back," Inuyasha told his wife half in frustration and half in amusement.

Kagome looked up from the sandwich that she was making and stared daggers at him, but then a smile formed among her lips. "Inuyasha," she said playfully. She went over and took the child from him and the baby stopped crying instantly. "I would never do that to my child." And she kissed the baby on the head and he giggled.

"I'm glad that you can do past everything now, Kagome," Inuyasha spoke knowledgably. He wrapped his arm around his wife and son. Kagome placed her head on his chest. A sense of security filled her and put her heart at ease.

"There are things that I will never be able to look past, Inuyasha, but I can always learn from them," she said quietly.

They stood silent and Inuyasha touched his finger on the baby's cheek. "Our son will become the greatest emperor known to China."

"Better than you?" Kagome asked him with a smile.

"Well, maybe just as good as his father."

Kagome broke away from Inuyasha and the two families sat on the blanket to have a nice relaxing picnic. They wouldn't worry about anything; they just talked and laughed and never wanted the day to end.

&

Soon after their wedding, it was announced that Miroku and Sango both passed the examinations. They were rewarded with high official ranks in the Forbidden Palace and helped Inuyasha run the government's affairs. Sango had proved that she was able to be as intelligent as any man in China by passing the exam. However, the other reason in which she took the exam to prove to her parents that she didn't need Miroku vanished.

Suga, losing both his wife and daughter, devoted all his time to the empire. At first Suga's and Inuyasha's relationship was stressed. Neither one knew how to act, and they became distant and almost acted like strangers. Within a few months they returned back to their normal relationship and soon it grew to be so much more. Suga acted as a true father to Inuyasha- a guiding light and a helping hand.

The queen, after learning the truth, spent an entire year at the temple. She prayed constantly for forgiveness and lived in pain every single day. Kagome visited her at the temple and got her to return to the palace in the end. The queen and Kagome tried to see beyond the past and Kagome's heart finally made room for the queen again. The queen, her mother, changed from a cruel woman into a caring mother.

Ximong, Sesshomaru, and Naraku were all sent south to work on the farms. Inuyasha insisted that they great power should not be wasted in the confinement of the prisons, but rather they should work hard each and everyday as punishment for the acts they committed.

Kouga reminded at the city for no evidence was found for a crime could be put against him. He served for Yang as a messenger and wouldn't dare again to commit treason against the emperor.

Yang returned to his position as judge even gained Ximong's position in the city. He worked with Inuyasha and the other cities to form a more united empire of China.

Kagome never grew used to the life in the palace and kept cooking her own food and never had servants around her. Inuyasha, knowing that the throne rightfully belonged to Kagome, gave her even more power than he held in the decisions that were to be made.

Kagome was forced to become educated and Inuyasha taught her how to read and write during the nights.

China, under Inuyasha's rule, became even stronger than it was ever before in history. Inuyasha's navy was the strongest in all of the seas, and it collected millions of yen of revenue of the empire. He reduced the taxes and thus lowered the poverty levels. The Great Wall of China was finished and it stood as a barrier to all outsiders. The cities worked coordinately with the palace and the people of China merged into a single unit.

It was a single empire. It was a feared and respected nation. It was the nation that Inuyasha and Kagome built. An empire of love, of compassion, of strength, and of perseverance.

Inuyasha and Kagome stepped out onto her balcony after a long day. The sun was flaming red as it set. They could almost see the entire country from where they were standing.

"This is your nation," Kagome said warmly as she took his hand in hers.

"This is our nation." And Inuyasha pulled her close to him, so they could share this beautiful moment.

They both watched the sun as it slowly slid below the horizon. A single day had just ended but a new day was right on its way.

The End

A/N: I can't believe this is it. Makes me a little sad even. Thank you everyone for reading my story up until the very end! Au revoir!


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